Curiosity Killed the Cat
by SilverChairie999
Summary: Jasper becomes fascinated by a human girl who he's never paid attention to before. He tries to ignore it, but what happens when the rest of the Cullens won't let him and he gets attatched to her? Will more transpire? lame summary, sorry. Jasper/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: this is my first story, so please be gentle!! I think I like where it's headed, I'm almost done with the second chapter, let me know what you guys think!! And I've changed things around a bit...Alice and Jasper were never together, even though they're both with the Cullens. and Bella and Edward hooked up a lot sooner than in the books. I call it creative license, haha. Anywho, enjoy.

Jasper Hale sighed quietly as he unenthusiastically trudged to his seat in history class. He tried to tune out the onslaught of emotions he picked up from the dozen or so students already in the room. At least he had this class with Emmett. Emmett was usually quite cheerful, Jasper would much rather have felt that instead of the petty emotions emitted by his classmates. Nervousness, indecision, loneliness, obnoxious giddiness, not to mention the ever present cocktail of hormones that seemed to make the kids irrepressibly horny.

He found the loneliness part ironic, these children had no idea what loneliness was the way Jasper did. He was alone, living in a family of perfectly matched mates. Alice wasn't attached either, but the two of them had never had more than a brother/sister relationship. He considered her one of his closest friends. Now, since Edward had Bella, Jasper was the odd man out.

He lowered his head a bit to stare at the pattern of the wood on top of the table he and Emmett sat at, hoping it would help him focus his plight to tune out the madness. Since vampires have such better vision than humans, he usually did get distracted by things like that. No one ever suspected the real reason, though. The teachers just assumed he had a short attention span, which is true. Once you've been through high school nine times, one does tend to quit listening. Besides, this was history class. American history. About the Civil War today, of all things. Jasper felt he could have taught the class in his sleep. The thought of him actually sleeping made a wry smile pass across Jasper's face briefly.

He could hear Emmett strolling down the hall, Jasper was glad his distraction was near. Emmett and another girl, who Jasper had seen before but never paid attention to, reached the doorway at the same time. Emmett gestured for her to go first, always the gentleman his brother was. Jasper smirked a little; Emmett was entertaining without even meaning to be. Jasper suddenly felt something new, different from the other emotions he had been trying not to notice.

He felt sadness. Extreme sadness. Not the petty kind of sadness that people felt when things weren't going their way, but an incredible sense of loss kind of sadness. He glanced around trying to pinpoint it, his eyes rested on the girl who came in a second ago. On the outside she appeared fine, maybe a bit annoyed to be in school, but her exterior certainly didn't mimic the inside. Jasper hadn't felt such sadness in a long time, not in himself or another being. Not really even since his own life as a young vampire.

He raised his head up a bit, casually flicking a piece of his unruly blond hair out of his eyes, to observe her further. He found himself desperately wanting to know what was wrong with her, curious about what could make her fall apart so much, yet still be able to hold it together all at once. He cocked his head to the side a bit, a habit of his when he was concentrating. What he would have given to have Edward's power right now.

Emmett gave Jasper a playful punch on the arm as he sat down. Ironically, this gesture probably would have broken the arm of a human. Jasper always found it somewhat amusing how humans thought they were so tough when reality was quite different.

"What took you so long?" he asked Emmett, looking for a distraction. He was unbelievably curious about the girl, yet cautious of it. He didn't become involved with humans, none of his siblings did... especially Jasper. Except Edward, but that's a different story. "Er…me and Rose got….sidetracked," Emmett halfway explained with a mischievous grin. Jasper rolled his eyes; Emmett was just as bad as those sex crazed teenagers filling the room. Emmett was happy though, it was a nice and simple thing for Jasper to enjoy.

The teacher approached the front of the room, signaling the lecture was about to start. Jasper gave the mystery girl another glance. She was sitting nonchalantly at the table ahead to Jasper's left, doodling on a sheet of paper, her light brown hair spilling over one of her shoulders. No one sat with her, maybe that was why she was sad…was she upset about being an outcast? She certainly couldn't have been more of an outcast than any of the Cullens…especially Jasper.

Should he use his ability to help her? He normally didn't use it with people he didn't know, and certainly not in situations he didn't know anything about. He never was one to meddle. Jasper found himself staring at her from the corner of his eye, debating what to do, which didn't go unnoticed by his 'older' brother.

"She's pretty," Emmett remarked so quietly that the teacher never could have heard, following Jasper's gaze. "Don't let Rosalie hear you say that," he smirked, grateful for the diversion. Emmett shrugged and said, "Dead or not, I'm still a guy and I still notice!" Jasper softly chucked, decided not to pay her any more attention. Whatever it was that was making her so sad was none of his business, and he didn't get involved with humans anyway…even if they were remarkably intriguing.


	2. Chapter 2

*Jasper's POV*…because I'm tired of writing in 3rd person. Also, very sadly, I don't own these characters (duh)…but I do have plans to kidnap Jasper : P

I could have sworn that time stopped in history class, it seemed it was never going to end. I couldn't seem to stop looking at the mystery girl. Why haven't I noticed her before? I guess I've been so focused on not killing any of these children that I don't keep track of individuals.

Emmett was right, she really was pretty. She was a touch paler than the average person, yet not nearly as bone white as me or my siblings. Or Bella for that matter, the palest alive person I've ever seen. Her hair was a light brown that reached a few inches past her shoulders. Her eyes were the most piercing of all, a strange hazel color that was more green than brown and more gray than green. Even with my superb vampire vision I couldn't decide on the exact color. Her nonchalance was fascinating; no one else would have ever guessed what was going on beneath the surface.

"Her name's Amanda," Emmett decided to inform me. I shot him a questioning look, how did he know this and I didn't? Of course, I did space out rather often. "I paid attention during roll call…something you should try. The paying attention part," he smirked. I elbowed him in the ribs, which earned me a swift kick in the leg under the table.

"Gentlemen, am I going to have to separate you?" the teacher asked, glowering in our direction. Nearly the whole class turned around to stare in the direction of his glowering. "No sir, it's all under control," Emmett replied, flashing his 'I'm a good student' smile. Mr. Landry returned to his lecture, but not without giving us one last glare.

The class reluctantly turned around in their seats, apparently disheartened the distraction had passed. I wished they could really understand the humanity of history. Dull textbooks and Mr. Landry's lectures certainly didn't help at all in that area. The mystery girl –Amanda- looked at us for a second longer than everyone else. We briefly made eye contact, her eyes were haunting.

What seemed like an eternity later, the bell finally decided to ring and let me be released from this prison. Emmett gleefully gathered his books and I followed him out the door to our lockers where we unceremoniously dumped our class materials. I could see him smirking out of the corner of my eye; I could tell he had some prime mockery in store for me as soon as we were outside. I rolled my eyes in his general direction. Stupid really, but it was the best I could come up with at the time…other than making him feel that he's in love with Edward…again. Everyone except Emmett seemed to think that was hysterical.

I glanced over at Emmett to warn him not to even start when I was bumped into. My head snapped back to the direction of the blow and there she was. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she apologized. From that brief moment of contact I felt her sadness so much more strongly. "No problem," I replied, trying to be polite. We brushed shoulders again in the crowded hallway and I hoped some of my calm rubbed off on her. It must have, since she glanced back once again in my direction before turning around and moseying on her way.

"Aaaw, does Jazzy have a crush?" Emmett sneered as we waited by Edward's Volvo for the others. "Shut up," I retorted, maybe a bit more rudely than necessary, "I found her interesting." "Well that's not saying much, watching paint dry is better than that man's lectures," Emmett snorted. I chucked along with him.

The others came loafing up to the car. Alice and Rosalie were discussing something about clothing; Edward and Bella were wrapped all over each other as usual. Edward tossed the keys to Alice, "I'm going home with Bella…no comment from you, Emmett." "Fiiiine," he sighed, "I'll save it for later!" Bella blushed, waving to us as she and Edward headed to her truck…or as Rose called it, the museum on wheels.

We piled into the Volvo, Rose and Alice were still chatting animatedly about a sweater or something, so I opted for the backseat with Emmett so I didn't have to be in the center of their banter. "Are you gonna pull an Edward on us, man?" Emmett asked. I might have been annoyed by his question if I couldn't sense his genuine curiosity and not any sarcasm.

"Of course not! I was just curious about her. Anything was more interesting than that class today," I replied, shaking my head at him in bewilderment. I could never stand to be as overcautious as Edward was with Bella; me being with a human wasn't even an option in my mind. Emmett looked like he had something else, probably a snide remark, to say but closed his mouth and decided to let it go. I turned to stare out the window, trying to drown out the girls' chatter and avoid any more questions.


	3. Chapter 3

*Jasper's POV*

I dragged myself through the doors of Forks High School for yet another day of 'education'. At least it was my senior year (again) so for the next few years I got to go away somewhere to college. Graduation was only a few months away, I could handle it.

I had resolved not to think about Amanda anymore, there was no point. She might have been an intriguing individual but nothing more to me. I was trying to sidetrack myself mentally last night, but a few times I slipped and thought of her. I saw Edward giving me odd looks, but chose to ignore it. I was afraid if I kept dwelling on her mysteriousness then Edward would pick up on something more concrete in my thoughts and lecture me.

I'm not as weak as he seems to think I am, I have more self control than he realizes. I get sick of being the weakest link in the family, and I certainly don't want this random girl in my _private thoughts_ to be the cause of a lecture that brings up my tumultuous history with the vegetarian diet.

I can understand why Edward would be concerned, yet I should be allowed to have privacy in my own head. But then again, it wasn't his fault, it was probably as annoying to him to hear everything everyone thought was it was for me to be bombarded by everyone's emotions. I shouldn't be so hard on him.

I slammed my locker shut and meandered to first period, English. I had this class with Rosalie. We sat together but seldom conversed. Rose and I were much closer than most anyone would have guessed. We were able to be comfortable in silence, which is sometimes the best thing. She didn't judge or lecture me and I didn't condemn her vanity. We overlooked each other's faults.

She had beaten me to class. I sat beside her and pulled out my book I had remembered to bring from home about transcendental philosophy. At least I'd have some mental stimulation today. "At least _you_ have entertainment," Rose smiled, playfully glaring at me. I shrugged and opened the book where I had left off, trying to drown out the sounds around me.

The day trudged on, never wanting to end. You'd think immortality would have given me better patience. I've been 'alive' nearly 200 years, quite a long time, yet school days seemed to drone on a thousand times longer than my existence.

Eventually, the lunch bell rang and I bolted from my Advanced Chemistry class. After lunch was only one more class and then I was done for the day. I met up with Alice in the lunch line; we too enjoyed each other's company. She greeted me with a cheery smile before launching into turbo speed rambling. I wasn't really listening; I was too preoccupied trying not to look for _her_.

"By the way," she added as we made our way to the table, "Don't be mad at Emmett. He thinks he's being helpful." "What?" I asked, utterly confused. "You'll find out soon enough," she finished mysteriously. Before I could badger her further, she started talking to Bella, probably purposefully to remain vague…as everyone knew full well Bella had no interest in the latest Versace line of handbags.

Emmett and Rose joined us in their usual seats; Emmett was feeling remarkably smug of himself; that much was obvious even without my ability to sense it. He and Edward were smirking at each other, whatever he had done Edward obviously saw in his head. "Can you see what will happen?" Emmett asked Alice. "No…he doesn't know about any of this yet," She answered. This was really starting to annoy me.

"I hate being the odd one out," Bella moaned from her seat across the table. I rolled my eyes at them, thinking I could probably guess what they were going on about. If they were trying to 'set me up' it was gonna be war. I don't need a frail human to babysit; I'm not close to being as saintly as Edward. I don't _want_ to he as saintly as Edward, I thought he censored too much of the truth from Bella. I couldn't possibly see the fun in a relationship where one has to worry about physically maiming the other person. Either way, I wish they'd all drop it. I picked my book up again and used it to ignore my now clearly insane siblings.

The bell eventually rang, much to my chagrin and relief. The lot of them turned to smile at me and I found myself nervous about whatever they had in store for me. I sent them a questioning look as I walked away. Rose caught up to me and patted my shoulder to calm me. "Should I be worried?" I asked. "You'll be fine; it's just one of Emmett's stupid schemes." I found this encouraging…and a touch alarming. Emmett had had some dandies in his day.

"So, bro…"Emmett began, "There's been a minor change in seating arrangements." "Whatever, you know full well we have assigned seats in history," I glowered, growing increasingly more anxious. "Well, that might be true…if this weren't the case," he smiled. He held out his hand to reveal a wad of some woodlike material. "That would be our table…you gotta sit somewhere else now!!" Emmett joyously declared. I laughed in spite of myself, leave it to Emmett to wad up a table just to annoy me.

We had to hurry if we didn't want to be late. What an oxymoron, a vampire being late for class. Emmett dashed ahead of me just as we reached the door. It was only when I entered the classroom that I realized he had taken it upon himself to take the only other vacant chair…the other vacant chair being by _her_.

"I don't know WHY you feel the need to encourage this," I murmured to him as I walked by to take my new seat. I took a deep breath before sitting next to Amanda. I have no idea why I felt the need to breathe…it was comforting in a way. A normal human reaction.

As I took my seat I gauged her reaction. She glanced over at me in a casual way. I could feel she was mildly curious, but not completely repulsed by the presence of a monster like me. She was still quite sad too; I hoped my close proximity would calm her down some. I decided to go back to reading my book rather than giving Emmett the satisfaction of watching me watch her again. He wasn't going to win!

I resumed my place in my book and vowed to not pay her any mind. I could feel Emmett's eyes boring into the side of my head and I had the overwhelming urge to send some inappropriate hand signals in his general direction. "That's a good book, I've never seen another person read it," Amanda remarked quietly to me.

My head turned abruptly to look at her, equally as amazed by her choice in literature. I never imaged that any person under the age of 70 would even consider picking this book up off the shelf. I had no idea what to say to her.

"Me neither, it took me forever to actually find a copy of it. It's good though," I replied politely back, completely lamely. Smooth, Jasper, smooth. "It seems leaving Forks is necessary to find anything decent to read," she smirked, "I liked the 6th chapter the best, but I had to read it like 3 times to understand it." "I'm not that far yet, but I'll keep that in mind. I've had to backtrack a few times already," I smiled back. She was easier to talk to than I ever imagined. She smelled nice too, yet it didn't bother me nearly as badly as Bella had bothered Edward. Ha, was I actually better than St. Edward in this area?? "Have you read this one yet?" I continued, pulling another book out of my bag. I brought it for backup in case I finished this one, vampirism allows for serious speed reading.

"No, I've heard of it though," she said, eyeing the cover, "That looks like a really old copy." "It is…I found it in an antique shop," I explained, completely lying. I had actually purchased this book when it first came out in 1917. "You can borrow it if you like, I've read it several times," I went on. "You're sure you don't mind? I don't want to destroy a priceless antique," she quipped. "You're more than welcome to, I don't put too much stock in antiquity," I said with more of double meaning than she'd ever know, sliding the book to her. We both began to read under the table, drowning out yet another horrid lecture that butchered the complexities of American history.

Eventually, class ended. "Thanks for the book," she said, standing up to leave. "You're welcome, I hope you enjoy it," I remarked, putting my things away back into my bag, "I'm Jasper by the way." I had no idea why I suddenly felt the need for introductions; I keep getting lamer by the second. "I'm Amanda," she introduced herself, appearing not to be bothered by my awkwardness. She held out her hand to shake mine and I hesitated.

After deliberation, I decided to just go for it and if she was freaked out she was freaked out. When I touched her hand I could sense her mild surprise at the coldness of it, yet she wasn't alarmed like so many others have been over the years. I tried to use this opportunity of contact, albeit brief as it was, to erase her sadness. "well, I'll see you Monday I guess," she added as we headed to the door to go our separate ways. "Yeah, see you then," I said as Emmett approached me and she scurried away. "Don't look so pleased with yourself," I snarled at him. It was hard to actually be ill towards him, the experience was a lot less painful than I had expected. "Are you excited for Monday yet??" he laughed, still grinning broadly. I murmured a string of profanities that I knew only he could hear, which only made him laugh further.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Let me know what you guys think!! And sorry if anything is misspelled, I typed this at 4am because I couldn't sleep. Insomnia sucks.

"You suck at life, Emmett," I snarled as I leaned against the Volvo waiting for the others to arrive. "That may be, but I'm pretty good at being dead," he laughed back. "And by the way, I do know that's you trying to make me think I'm in love with the lamp post." I smiled devilishly and feigned innocence.

Alice appeared out of literally nowhere and walloped (a/n: I'm not sure if this is a real word, but I like it!) me with a hug. "I'm so proud of you!" she gushed," you did so well! I knew you would!" Good grief, we just conversed, we didn't go down the aisle, I didn't understand why she was making such a fuss.

On the drive home, I stared out the window trying to fervently ignore my other siblings. While what they instigated wasn't nearly as painful as I was expecting, I still didn't like their meddling. Emmett's smugness radiated from him, nearly choking me. Too bad we weren't under that lamp post anymore. But I did get an intriguing conversation out of their ridiculous plan. I had no idea anyone else had my taste in literature…I thought the people who read my books died 80 years ago.

I could see Edward watching me through the rearview mirror and I started to recite a Britney Spears song in my head just to annoy him. "Ugh, now that's gonna be stuck in my head forever!" he snarled at me, resulting in my laughter. We seem to do quite a bit of snarling lately. "Serves you right for always listening in," I quipped, only partly joking. I knew Edward couldn't help hearing everything, but it was so damn annoying. It was quiet the rest of the drive back, Alice flipping through a catalog, Rose and Emmett talking quietly amongst themselves, and Edward singing 'Oops I Did It Again' to himself.

If I had thought that I wasn't going to be badgered about the day's events I was sorely mistaken. "Are you alright?" Esme inquired as I entered behind the others in the house. "He did great! Everyone is so proud!" Alice chirped, bouncing past us to go up the stairs. "Did everyone besides me know about this scheme??" I asked of Esme. She nodded, reaching up to smooth my hair in her motherly way. "So it went well, then?" "Everyone seems to think so, all I did was talk to her. It wasn't that big of a deal," I answered. Esme smiled and patted my shoulder before saying, "Good for you, it's about time you had someone to talk to about your crazy books."

"Why is everyone encouraging this? Isn't it too dangerous for a vampire to befriend a random, defenseless person? Especially _me_, out of all of you??" I asked her. Esme would always be honest with me. "We just want to see you happy," she said simply, smiling warmly before going back to her magazine on the couch.

I went upstairs to my room and lay on the bed to brood some more. I guess it is possible for a vampire and a normal human to be friends, and more, as with Edward and Bella. But that was just a disaster waiting to happen, we all knew it. Careful as Edward may be, he can never truly overcome what he is.

I didn't want to be the cause of a disaster, that innocent girl could never have done anything horrible enough to deserve the fate I have. But I guess just talking to her wouldn't end the world. She did have my book, after all. "We're going hunting!!" Emmett shouted, banging on my door. I shot up out of my daze and followed him, Rose and Alice down the stairs. At least I'd have some entertainment tonight besides my thoughts.

The weekend passed by uneventfully. Emmett challenged me to an arm wrestle, which he won, but I told him it was just because I let him. Esme, Rosalie and Alice went to Seattle for some shoe sale or something girly like that. Carlisle was away on some doctor's convention or somesuch. It was almost a relief for the school day to return so I'd at least have something to do besides get lost in my thoughts. My thoughts were seldom the happiest of places. Sometimes I felt bad that Edward had to listen to them. Sometimes being the key word.

I was almost glad for Monday; I was interested to hear what Amanda thought about the book I had lent her. By the time history class rolled around I was almost excited. I took my new seat, since Emmett had destroyed my old seat, but she wasn't there. I didn't think much of it, she was probably running late or something. But she never showed up.

She wasn't there the next day either. I was disappointed, but also a bit relieved that the result was two days free of nagging courtesy of my siblings. I picked up hints of sympathy from them, which I didn't like any better than the other, but at least they didn't say anything.

Wednesday morning the five of us trooped out to Edward's car to attend yet another school day. Alice dashed up to me and tossed me the keys to my dark red Mustang. "You'll need these today," she grinned mysteriously. She followed me to my car and got in the passenger seat. "And I'm doing this…why?" I asked as we pulled out of the drive. "You'll find out soon enough!" she laughed. "But Aaaaliiicee! I want to knoooow!!" I whined. "Sorry, you'll have to wait to see the future, just like normal people." And with all the maturity that a 165 year old vampire could possess, I stuck my tongue out at her.

The day passed at its usual sloth-like pace; all the while I was getting more and more curious about what Alice foresaw. I walked into history and was pleasantly surprised to see Amanda was back. She was too engrossed in her doodling to observe my silent approach. She jumped a little when I sat down but then smiled and greeted me.

"You've been gone a long time," I said, rather lamely, but I couldn't think of anything better. "Uh, yeah, there was a…family emergency," she halfway explained, "Can I see your notes? I really doubt I missed anything important, all this comes straight out of the book, but you never know." "Sure," I said pretending not to notice her quick change of subject, and passed her my notebook.

"I finished your book, but I left it at home. It was a hectic morning," she went on as she scrawled down my notes, "I left it somewhere where I wouldn't forget it, and I went and forgot it." "Not a problem, it happens to us all," I said, "so what did you think of it?" For the next few minutes we discussed some of the finer intricacies of turn of the century philosophy, until the teacher rudely decided that his lecture was more worthy of our attention.

He finally shut up and the bell rang to release us from this hellish prison that they call…high school. I jumped up, perhaps a bit too eagerly. "This class goes on forever, doesn't it," Amanda remarked quietly as she followed me out the door. "Forever doesn't even begin to cover it," I said. Seriously, I've lived through decades that felt shorter than that lone class period. We picked up our conversation where we left off, and I found myself following Amanda to her locker. I leaned against the locker beside hers and listened to her ramble about something in the book. Her movements were fascinating, so casual yet so elegant. Something a normal person would ever, ever notice. She slammed her locker shut, maybe with a bit more force than was necessary.

I found myself following her, wherever she was going. I was still participating in the conversation, yet not paying too much attention. Lucky for me, being a vampire lets me concentrate on several things at once. "Ugh, I get so sick of all this rain," She mumbled as we passed a large window in the hallway. "It is rather dreary," I agreed. She swore quietly under her breath before saying, "Especially when I just missed my bus."

Ooh, so _this_ is what Alice had seen. "I can give you a ride," I offered, suddenly a bit anxious. She looked up at me; I could feel her surprise and confusion. It seemed to me she was surprised someone was being nice or something. "You don't mind?" "Not at all," I insisted. "Okay then…if you're _positive_ you don't mind," she said skeptically, as if she was expecting me to change my mind and run away or something. "I'm _positive_ I don't mind," I laughed. "Thanks," she responded, "this'll give me a chance to give you your book back."


	5. Chapter 5

This is probably the last update for a day or two, this is the last bit of what I had typed up. I like reviews 

Still Jasper's POV, I'm going to write in Amanda's eventually*

As Amanda and I walked down the hall we passed Alice who gave me a reassuring smile. We exited the school and hurried through the parking lot, trying to stay as dry as possible. Of course, my definition of hurrying was much different than hers, which I found funny in an odd sort of way. Clearly I'm psychotic.

I pointed out which car was mine and I could sense her admiration. I didn't really like to draw attention to myself or flaunt anything; my car was actually the least ostentatious of all our cars. Put my Mustang next to Alice's new yellow Porsche and no one notices the Mustang, which is fine with me.

I opened the door for her to get in. She seemed surprised and I didn't understand why. Did everyone else just ignore her existence? I dashed to the other side of the car, got in, and started the ignition. "You're really too nice, you know," Amanda stated as I backed the car up. "How so?" I inquired. "Offering to take me home, opening the door. Things like that," she said. "I was raised to be a gentleman," I shrugged, which is quite true. Growing up in the mid 19th century had instilled chivalry in my brain.

I reached down to turn the heat on. I tended to forget that people with live bodies get cold. She gave me directions to her house, I remembered seeing the neighborhood. There were a lot of old Victorian homes in that area, if I remembered correctly. I never cared much for Victorian architecture, it was so excessive. One of the best things about being a vampire was being able to ramble in my head and still being able to pay attention and participate in a conversation about Voltaire. It almost cancelled out the part about being a bloodsucking monster. Almost.

A few moments later I pulled into the driveway of a Victorian I had passed by several times before. It looked like an interesting house, even if it wasn't my taste. "Kind of gaudy isn't it?" she smirked as I pulled the keys out of the ignition. I chuckled, "It's interesting, though."

"Come on and I'll go find your book," she said, climbing out of the car. I followed suit, following her up the handful of stairs to the large porch. "You didn't let me open the door for you this time," I pointed out, pretending to be hurt. She made a face at me at unlocked the door with a key. I hesitated in the doorway, although I wasn't sure why, didn't want to seem presumptuous, I suppose.

"You can come inside, I don't bite," she said, gesturing indoors. No, but I do, I thought. Nonetheless, I followed her through the hallway into a large living room with an adjoining kitchen. It was as clean as a hospital and rather sparsely decorated with neutral colors. The minimalism was quite a contrast from the rather flamboyant exterior.

"I must've left it in my room," she said, dashing up the stairway that was between the kitchen and the living room. I followed her, unsure of what else to do. I hated feeling so awkward, it was unusual for me. Her room turned out to be totally different from the rest of the house.

The walls were a light grey and covered in framed old black and white photographs of cathedrals and other old buildings. I immediately was drawn to the three large bookshelves in assorted corners. While most of the room was in black and white, there were also sporadic red items, like the bedspread. It was interesting. Lots of things about her seemed to interest me.

I immediately began looking at her collection of books. "No, don't look at those," she whined, "You'll think I'm a total nerd!" "Fine, I won't look, just tell me what all you have here," I compromised, eager to learn what all was in this moderate sized library she had accumulated. "History and art history, Philosophy, and fiction," She elaborated, looking up from rummaging on her desk and waving her arm to each shelf as she named it.

"You collect old pictures?" I guessed. "Yeah, old architectural ones," she confirmed, finally finding my book under whatever she had piled on the desk. "I've got some you should look at sometime," I offered, "They're not of buildings, but they're still pretty interesting." I was talking about my old family photos, the ones I had taken from my parents' house after they died.

Before she could say anything, I noticed a really cool feature of the house. "I've always wanted my window to overlook the roof like this," I declared, "I'd go out there all the time!" I was rather embarrassed by my little outburst, I was used to being the suave one and letting my siblings do all the spazzing. At least _she_ didn't seem to think anything of it. "That's where I do most of my reading," she explained, "Wanna see? There's a really cool spot that the rain doesn't get to."

Before I could answer, she had opened the window and was climbing through it, onto the wet roof. "Should you really be doing this in the rain?" I asked, peering out the window after her, "If you slip and fall I'll feel guilty." "Psh, if I didn't do it in the rain I'd never get to, with how much it rains here," she laughed as she walked on the flatter part of the roof. I shrugged and followed her; I didn't have to worry much about _me_ slipping.

She cautiously made her way to a section of the roof where the third story overlapped the second story roof and created a moderate sized awning that was sheltered perfectly from the rain. She ducked down under it and sat down by the wall that supported the weight of the overlap. "This is the perfect spot to read," I commented as I sat beside her. "Except one year in spring when this stupid bird decided to make its nest in the corner, so until the baby birds flew away they decided to crap all over my spot. I resented it." I laughed with her.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her shiver slightly. I guess it was pretty cold outside, I didn't really notice anymore. I shrugged my jacket off and handed it to her, once again, she seemed surprised. "It's okay, I'd feel bad if you got hypothermia," she said, declining my offer. "Take it, I never get cold," I insisted. "Thanks, but remember you said that when you're in a hospital bed with a plummeting body temperature," she said. She pulled the jacket on and I wished I had some body heat so it would have been warm for her.

"Can I ask you a question?" she began, "if you don't wanna answer it's okay, I'm just curious." I nodded and she continued. "Why do I feel calm around you? It's almost like your presence makes me feel much calmer." "I'm not sure," I answered, trying to remain truthful, "I've been told a few times that I have that effect on people. I don't know why, though." There, that wasn't a total lie. "It's probably nothing, I'm probably just going crazy," she went on. I smiled at the irony of her remark, if only everyone else were so observant.

"Can I ask you something else?" she said, looking at me like I was going to refuse. "Go ahead." "Well, why don't you talk to anyone at school? I mean, you're nice, smart, and have a good vocabulary, so why all the secrecy?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I responded, trying to subtly dodge the question. "My answer's boring, though," she said, looking down at her hands, "Being mysterious is more exciting. People'll fill in the blanks with whatever they want, most of the time it's a lie, but it's still more entertaining than the truth." "What could be so terrible about the truth that no one can know?" I asked, wondering what kind of deep, dark secrets she could be hiding. As if it could compare to my secrets.

"Nothing exciting unfortunately, I find them all….boring. They're all satisfied with their own little world here and never wonder about other things… other places. I find their simplicity too frustrating to befriend," she said, but I could sense her slight nervousness, "We were talking about you, though, you can't get me sidetracked so easily."

I smiled and began to explain. "I've moved around a lot with Carlisle and Esme and all, so it's easier to not make friends and get attached when it's highly likely it won't be a long connection. It's better for my siblings to be my closest friends, when we move they always come too and don't stay behind." Well, that was true. Too bad I had to leave out the reason we had to move so much.

"You're adopted, aren't you?" she continued. I could tell she was a touch apprehensive, like she didn't want to offend me, but I could also see that her curiosity was innocent. "Yeah, they adopted Rosalie and me when we were 11," I explained, referring to the fact that Rose and I passed off as twins. "Our parents died in an accident."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, pulling my jacket closer around her. I shrugged, "Things happen. Have you always lived in Forks?" I was getting desperate to turn the attention from me. And I found myself becoming increasingly more curious about this girl. "Unfortunately," she sighed, "Of all the places to grow up, it has to be here, in the town with a downtown consisting of three buildings. I live with my grandparents, and my aunt who occasionally bothers to drop by. My parents are dead, too."

"I'm sorry," I quickly began, "I didn't mean to upset you." "It's fine, like you said, things happen," she said, brushing a leaf off my jacket sleeve. It began to rain much harder than before. "We had better go inside," she said, "the rain probably isn't going to let up." We got to our and stepped out into the downpour. The roof was rather slippery, even I had noticed it. I offered my hand to her, yet another gesture that came almost naturally to me that seemed to floor her. "Thank you," she said quietly, taking my hand and letting me lead the way back to the window.

I hopped back down into her room from the window, and helped her down also. She murmured gratitude. "I guess I better head out, it's a lot later than I realized," I said, I had been there nearly two hours. It didn't make a difference to me, time was irrelevant, but I figured she probably had something to be doing. People lose a lot of time sleeping.

She nodded and handed me the book that was on the bed. "Oh, I have a book you should read!" she declared, dashing toward one of the bookshelves, only to return a second later with a book. "It's about philosophy in the middle ages," she explained, "it's interesting. Strange, but interesting." "Awesome, thank you," I remarked, following her down the stairs.

"We have an interlibrary loan thing going on," she laughed as we reached the front door. "I guess so," I smiled in agreement and opened the door to leave. "Oh, here, I almost forgot," she said, taking off my jacket, "You'll need it, it's supposed to get a lot colder before dark." "Oh, right." I said absentmindedly, taking it from her. "So I'll see you tomorrow then," I said searching for adequate words. "Yeah, I'll see ya," she smiled back at me. I strode out to my car trying to recall the last time I talked to a human for that long. Or _anyone_ for that long, I hadn't been the most social person as of late.

Her house was just a few moments from mine, so I seemed like I was home in no time. Of course, Alice was sitting on the steps in the garage, waiting for me. "Are you planning to thank me now or later?" she grinned. "Thank you," I smiled with her, giving her a hug, "Even if you are quite, _quite_ sneaky."


	6. Chapter 6

The next day I was actually excited for school to start. The world must have been ending. I passed the time in the classes before history by re-reading the book Amanda had loaned me. I had finished it the night before, not sleeping frees up a lot of my time. But going back through it again still intrigued me. Anything intrigued me more than school.

Amanda beat me to class, she was sitting at our table doodling. I wondered idly if it was the same drawing or a new one. You'd think I could pay better attention. I sat down, fervently ignoring Emmett, and looked at her in a perplexed manner. "Did you run into an oil painting?"

"Ha, no," she said, putting the doodle on hold, "I got a bit carried away in art class last period. I go to the art room instead of lunch." "You didn't tell me you were an artist," I accused. "Because I'm not, I just dabble," she elaborated. "I demand to see some of your work!" I declared, trying to be dramatic and probably failing. "No can do," she sneered, sticking her tongue out at me, a gesture that I returned.

Last week she and I were complete strangers and now we're joking around like old friends. My lunacy must be rubbing of on the universe. Which is actually a fairly alarming thing, if you think about it. I'm the least normal individual out of my _vampire_ family. A freak among freaks.

"That was quick," she commented as I returned her book. "Fast reader," I shrugged, alluding to the truth. She leaned down to put the book in her bag and I caught a glimpse of her drawing. Spontaneous lines had never been so fascinating. "You should start coming to lunch," I offered, "we don't get a chance to talk except in this class. The rest of my day is depressingly dull." "Tempting," she began," but then I'd have to do without art class and that would be almost as equally depressing." "You can't paint at home?" I asked, trying to persuade her to start joining me without using my talent for persuasion. I just wanted to spend more time with her…to get to know her more. "I could, but I don't have any supplies. Have you ever looked for somewhere to buy art supplies from in this town?" she laughed, but a touch of frustration shone through. I supposed she had a very valid point. Unless they sold acrylics at the sporting store and since, apparently, she didn't have a car that was pretty much it. "I think that Seattle or Spokane or somewhere should annex Forks and make it worthwhile," she continued. I nodded in agreement as the teacher, once again, decided to start lecturing.

Once again, I also wasn't paying attention. He was rambling on about a paper or something being due in the next few weeks and everyone else was groaning in protest. It made no difference to me; I had all the time in the world to write some petty paper. Then he started talking about assigning us different battles of the Civil War to research and write about. This also amused me. I smiled ironically as I stared at the top of the table.

"Mr. Hale, is something humorous?" he asked, trying to be intimidating and glaring at me. "No sir." "Good, I'm assigning you the Battle of Shiloh," he rambled on, "Miss Williams?"

Amanda's head shot up, clearly she hadn't been paying rapt attention either. "You are to write about the Battle of Galveston." I could barely contain my amusement. She jotted it down sloppily and returned to her doodling. I wondered vaguely what Mr. Landry would think if Amanda cited a first hand source for that paper. The rest of the class received their topics with groans and whines, except Emmett. I could already tell he was planning to badger me for information. I always wondered if teachers ever realized the reason that their students hate history is because they make to so damn painful. History _is_ painful, the story of mankind is an excruciating endeavor, but it isn't nearly as dull as textbooks made it.

I began taking notes on the lecture, as if it could possibly be anything new, when I was suddenly struck with an idea. There was a bookstore I was planning to go to this weekend in Seattle…Seattle had _real_ stores…like art supply stores. I could see if Amanda would like to join me on my little excursion, and then she couldn't use art class as an excuse to skip lunch. But then I might have to accept the fact that painting interested her more than talking to me. And sitting with me and my siblings was an intimidating experience. Bella was just now getting really comfortable with it and she's been doing it for several months.

But it _was_ a remarkably dangerous idea, what if something went wrong? What if I did something stupid? What if she got an insignificant papercut like Bella on her birthday and I snapped? Only this time there wouldn't be anyone to hold me back.

After class had ended, she and I strolled toward the door. I waited for her at her locker as we casually discussed yet another book. "There's my bus, I'll see you tomorrow," she said. I thought I felt a twinge of reluctance coming from her, but I couldn't be sure. It was very subtle. "Yeah, I'll see you," I said then we parted ways.

I strode up to the Volvo, where my siblings were already in the car and waiting for me. Emmett and Alice smiled broadly at me, in an amused fashion. Rosalie patted my shoulder as I climbed in the backseat beside her. Edward seemed too preoccupied with something to pay me any mind, which was fine with me. I wasn't entirely comfortable in the spotlight, even if it was just the people I saw everyday.

When we arrived home, Carlisle was on the couch watching a dull news program. They were talking about some murder in Seattle or somesuch. I greeted him and then snagged the newspaper he had finished and left on the coffee table. I skimmed through it as I headed to my room, searching for anything of interest.

I pulled my jacket off and tossed it on the bed as a headline caught my eye, about the murder in Seattle. So far six people had been killed. They were blaming a serial killer for it, the slayings all had the same calling cards. I pitied his victims; innocent people didn't deserve that abrupt and horrific fate. Monsters like me did. Even the vilest person couldn't compare to the travesties I had committed.

I grew bored with the paper, and hopped out my window to take a run in the woods. That always relaxed me and cleared my head. I needed all of that I could get. Maybe I could come up with a better idea for spending time with Amanda. I dashed through the woods, preparing to hop over the stream, when I noticed Edward sitting under a tree, as if he was waiting for me. I paused and quirked an eyebrow, I couldn't tell if he wanted to talk or was just there. His mood was very anxious, there are so many things that could have attributed to that, though, other than me. Hell, being with Bella and her klutziness would make me a nervous wreck too.

"Jasper…" Edward began, with some uncertainty. I turned to face him, waiting for the lecture from St. Edward to begin. "I know you hate it when I listen to your thoughts…but I also know you know I can't help it," he persisted, still hesitant, "You shouldn't be so wary, you're not nearly as dangerous as you think you are." "_What_?," I hissed, in complete disbelief he just uttered those words.

"You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for…When I was first drawn to Bella it was because her scent was so appealing that I thought I _had_ to kill her. But with you and Amanda….it seems different. You never contemplated killing her. I never even saw it cross your mind. You're stronger than I am," Edward said, anxious of my coming reaction.

"So that whole bit where I nearly killed Bella doesn't matter?" I retorted. "What if Amanda and I were alone and I killed her? What if she got a papercut like Bella? I don't _want_ to hurt her, she's been nothing but a friend to me, why should I put her life at risk just because I'm afraid I couldn't control myself if something stupid happened???"

"If you keep worrying about it you won't hurt her," Edward said softly, "I overheard what you were thinking about earlier…going to Seattle and all. I think you'd be fine. Besides, Bella is the most clumsy person alive, Amanda appears quite graceful in comparison. I doubt she would spontaneously trip over air and slice her hand open."

I stood there in shock, or as much shock as is possible for a vampire. I never realized he had so much confidence in me. It was reassuring. I nodded and said, "I'll think about it." "I won't be listening," he laughed, stood up and sprinted toward the house. I chuckled and leaped over the stream and resumed my run.

After I decided to go back the rest of the night passed uneventfully. Esme had been working on renovating an old house in town, so she was getting input from Alice and Rosalie about decoration the inside. Carlisle was in his study, Edward was at Bella's, and Emmett badgered me for Civil War information, just as I had predicted, as we watched television in the living room.

I left Emmett to watch his football game and decided to go read. I passed the kitchen where the girls had their things spread out. "Jasper?" Esme called softly. I soundlessly strode into the kitchen. "We can't decide between the burgundy or the violet wall color. Can you tell us what you think?" she asked. It never ceased to amaze me how she could be so loving in just asking a simple question.

I looked at the paint swatches they had beside the photograph of the newly restored room. "Red," I said after glancing at it for a second. "Told you so!" Alice chirped in agreement to the rest of the people at the table. Rosalie gave me a playful glare, I shrugged and headed back upstairs. It wasn't until I reached my room that I realized why I picked red. She had red in her room. Ugh, she's seeped into my subconscious and I'm becoming obsessed!! This has got to stop, I told myself. But, truth be told, there were much worse things that could happen. This didn't bother me nearly as much as it probably should. But it still made me nervous.

The night passed quickly, I immersed myself in another book. Eventually I'm going to run out of things to read. Morning arrived soon enough, I changed clothes and dashed downstairs to venture out into yet another school day. Alice bounced up to me and tossed me my car keys. "Today should be interesting," she said and then dashed off, leaving me to wonder what she could possibly be going on about. I hated when she did that,.

My morning classes passed painlessly enough, before long it was lunch period. As usual, I sat with my siblings and Bella. Alice, who was sitting in front of me, kept grinning strangely. I shrugged it off, figuring she was being her usual bouncy self.

"Your day's about to get more interesting," she said cryptically. I stared at her like she was a lunatic, before turning my head to follow Alice's gaze. Amanda was walking into the cafeteria, I could sense her nervousness a mile away. She glanced around tentatively, as if she thought I might not be here. Alice was still grinning like a madman. Amanda saw me at our table and walked up. She sat in the chair on the end, across from Alice and beside me.

"Surprised to see me?" she asked, turning to me. "A bit," I admitted, " I feel so important that you abandoned art for this." She shrugged, she was still nervous, "You talked me into it." "Hi, I'm Alice!" my sister introduced, waving enthusiastically, "That's Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, and Bella," she added on, pointing out each person as she named them. Amanda smiled and uttered a shy 'hello'.

"It's nice to meet you," Rosalie said with a smile from her seat beside Alice. Bella seemed stunned by Rose's greeting, but still greeted Amanda politely. Edward and Emmett nodded in acknowledgement before going back to their conversation.

"Jasper tells me you're quite the philosopher," Alice piped up. "Yeah, I guess…it sounds so nerdy," Amanda laughed. "On the contrary," Rose began, "At least Jasper has someone to discuss his books with now…besides us. Someone who might actually contribute to the conversation." The group of us chatted for what seemed like just a few moments, but was actually the remainder of the period. By the time the bell rang, Amanda seemed completely relaxed and was laughing at Alice's animated storytelling before the bell rang to make us leave.

I hopped up and pulled her chair out for her. "_Why_?" Amanda asked, crinkling her nose. "We've already been through this!" I reminded her, matching her playful, borderline annoyed tone. "I'll let it slide this time, but if it persists we're gonna have problems," she said, but I could tell she was actually amused. "Nice to meet you, Amanda," Alice said in parting. She looked at me and said so lowly that Amanda could never have heard, "You'll be fine." I nodded, I didn't know what she had foreseen, but apparently it wasn't a catastrophe. She then frolicked away, leaving me with a thousand questions.

"Do we _have_ to go to class?," she groaned, significantly slowing her pace. "No," I answered with a devious smile, careful not to show my dental vampirism, "We could go to Seattle!" "Seattle? That's like four hours away!!" she looked at me like I was a lunatic. "I know a shortcut," I explained. Which was partly true, driving at three times the legal speed limit is technically a shortcut. "There's an _incredible_ bookstore and I'm sure there are art supply places as well," I kept on trying to persuade her. She hesitated for a moment before chiming in, "Alright, I'm in! But I should probably call my grandparents and tell them I won't be back for awhile." I sensed her sadness coming up again, perhaps it was related to them. I'd have to figure that one out.

"Not a problem," I said, pulling out my cellphone as we headed out the double doors into the parking lot. I opened the car door for her, she rolled her eyes at me as she left a message on their machine. I got in and we peeled out of the parking lot.


	7. Chapter 7

"You won't get in trouble for this, will you?" I asked as I tore down the highway. I tend to forget that not everyone's 'parents' didn't mind their kids disappearing for awhile. "Nah," she laughed, "They'll be more amazed I've actually found someone my own age who I can stand to be with."

Her own age…ha. If only she knew I had nearly 150 years on her. "You're parents don't mind impromptu excursions to Seattle?" she asked. I shook my head, "They're used to it, I take off a lot." "I guess there are a lot worse things you could do rather than go to a bookstore, huh?" she smirked.

"You could say that," I said quietly. I could sense her curiosity about that statement, but thankfully she didn't say anything. I liked that about her, she didn't press me for answers. She was looking out the window at the scenery passing by in a blur of colors. What I wouldn't have given to hear her thoughts right then. For once, where was Edward when I needed him?

"Just for the record," Amanda began, turning to look at me, "they probably will be pretty ill if I die in a high speed car accident." I could tell she wasn't afraid of my lunatic driving, just amused. "I'll keep that in mind," I concurred, "but just for the record, it's much more exciting to go thrice the legal speed limit." "Oh, I'm not arguing," she laughed, "Just throwing that out there…."

We were silent a few minutes. Not an uncomfortable silence as it might have been with anyone else. We were just listening to the music on the radio, each in our own thoughts. "There's something different about you," Amanda said after a few moments, breaking the silence and snapping me out of my reverie. If I would have had a heartbeat, it would have stopped. She couldn't know…could she? She had no way of figuring what I was out.

"Oh?" I asked, hiding my surprise and borderline panic. "I don't know how to explain it…you're just _different_. Not in a bad way. Actually it's a nice change from the monotony of normal people," she elaborated, articulating carefully as if trying to make sense of her thoughts, "I'll have to figure it out."

"You can try to…but you won't," I told her with a smirk. "Oh, is that challenge?" she grinned, trying to be indignant. "Not at all, just a fact," I said confidently. "Well, since I can't figure it out, will you tell me?" she asked, only halfway serious. "Not a chance," I laughed, trying to keep the mood light. "Maybe someday, but not any time soon," I added.

"I'll remind you of that," she remarked. She seemed to sense I was uncomfortable and changed the subject. "What's so magnificent about this bookstore?" "It's the best," I smiled, running with the new subject, "They have a great variety with a lot of obscure titles that are hard to find." We chatted for the remainder of the trip about random things. Of course, the remainder of the trip was about half an hour, being able to drive so fast really cuts down on my travel time.

I maneuvered the Mustang around the meandering streets of downtown Seattle. "Ugh, I'm so turned around," Amanda mumbled. "Yeah, It's a touch out of the way, but that makes it all the better for us," I replied, "Keeps out the riff raff." She erupted in laughter, "did you _really_ just say _riff raff_??" "Sorry…?" I replied, taken back by her reaction. "I've never heard anyone under 50 say that seriously," she continued, still grinning in amusement. I shrugged and parked the car. "I've heard younger people say it!" I argued playfully. "Riiight," she smirked, getting out of the car.

It was lightly drizzling and we hurried to the entrance to the bookstore. I noticed that her normally straight hair curled slightly in the rain. I held the door open for her, much to her chagrin. She didn't even comment, just glared at me before being immediately distracted by the mass of bookshelves.

"I don't even know where to start," she said in awe. I laughed and followed her as she began to explore the shelves. We perused the shelves, casually discussing the pros and cons of books we recognized and picking up ones we didn't. I lingered in the philosophy section and she moved on to the art history shelves. I had already gathered an armful of books that would keep me occupied for awhile. I meandered back to where Amanda was mesmerized by a huge art history book. I got closer and read the title…something about early 20th century art.

She noticed my approach and reluctantly returned the book back to the shelf. "Get it," I encouraged, gesturing toward the discarded book. "Er, no," she said, "it's $200… that's my art money!" "True," I agreed as she picked up the book she was going to buy. After paying, we dashed out to dump the books in the car before we headed down the street to the art supply store.

Amanda was beside herself with glee as we walked around inside. Or rather, she dashed around grapping paints and brushes and canvas and whatever else while I tried to keep up. She was like a little kid in a candy store. Or a vampire in a bloodbank. Both of our arms were laden with her supplies as we meandered back to the front of the store to pay. There was a bit of a long line and I suddenly had a brainstorm.

"I think I left my phone in the car," I lied, "do you mind if I go get it? Carlisle or Esme might have called." She shook her head and I tried to walk at a normal pace out of the store. As soon as I was out of her sight, I dashed back down to the bookstore. I grabbed the book she was looking at previously, as well as a few others on the same subject that looked promising. I paid and put them in the car with my other books so she wouldn't see.

I retuned to the art store as she was finishing paying. Upon returning to the car we discovered that Mustangs weren't developed with large canvas transportation in mind, but we made them fit. The ride home passed quickly, we chatted about random things like old friends. It was well after dark when I pulled into her driveway.

We got out and I helped her with her bags to the door. An older woman, who I assumed to be Amanda's grandmother, opened the door right before Amanda turned the knob. "I'm glad you decided to come back!" the woman laughed, taking one of Amanda's bags from her. "I almost didn't," Amanda said, "You should have _seen_ the bookstore!" I found myself smiling while listening to them, the woman was charming. She ushered us from the entryway into the living room where we discarded Amanda's purchases.

"I'm Lillian, Amanda's grandmother," she said, turning to me and smiling warmly. "Oh, sorry," Amanda said, gesturing to me, "This is Jasper." "So this is the person who kidnapped my granddaughter for the day?" Lillian asked. I could tell she wasn't upset, just surprised about something. "I'm afraid so," I answered. "Well done then, she's been itching to get out of here for awhile," Lillian laughed before continuing, "It's lovely to meet you, dear." "The pleasure is mine," I responded cordially but sincerely. "Ugh, you and your manners," Amanda said, playfully glowering at me.

"The runaway has returned!" an older man exclaimed, coming down the stairs into the living room. He hugged Amanda while she asked, "How are you feeling today, Grandpa?" "Oh, just fine," he said, ruffling her hair like people do to little kids. "And who is this young man?" "I'm Jasper, sir," I answered. "It's nice to meet you, son," he smiled, "I'm John."

"I think I left a bag in the car," Amanda said, looking pointedly at me. "Good grief, there's more?!" John joked. "I choose to ignore that!" she said as I followed her to the front door. "They seem quite nice," I said as we walked down the front steps. "They are, but I had to get you out of there…. I don't bring people around very often…or really not ever, so they could have badgered you all night," she said, grabbing the last bag of her things from the trunk. I grabbed the bag of books I had bought for her so quickly that she never would have noticed.

I took the bag from her hand and followed her back to the front door. "You know, I really can carry things myself," she insisted. "But you shouldn't _have_ to since I can," I also insisted, "But I suppose you can have it now." I handed her the bag back after we were standing on the porch. "I can't think of a witty reply,"she admitted, took the bag and set it in a chair by the front door.

"You're forgetting something," I said, pulling the other bag out of the inside of my jacket. "That must be yours, I've got all my stuff," she said with a confused expression. "I'm quite sure it's yours," I replied, thrusting it into her hands. "But I didn't…" she started, looking into the bag, then back at me, "Jasper, you shouldn't have spent this much money on me!" I laughed at her reaction, "It's just to thank you for coming with me today." "_You_ take _me_ to Seattle and you thank me?" she asked incredulously, but I could tell she was actually rather touched by my gesture. I didn't say anything; I just watched her look through her new books again. It probably made me happy to see her so excited.

After a moment of further perusing, she looked up at me and said, "Well, you know I don't think you should have, but thank you." She then gave me a hug, which was one of the last things I was expecting. But I didn't even think of hurting her. It didn't seem to even be an _option_.

"So I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I asked as she released me. "Yep," she answered, taking a step back. "Until tomorrow, then," I said, taking her hand and kissing it. It wouldn't have taken a vampire to see that my action surprised her, but it wasn't a bad type of surprised. I wasn't even sure why I did it, but it seemed to fit the moment. "Bye," she said softly as I walked back to the car.

A/N: Oooh, a surprise ending! This might be my last update until after the Thanksgiving break…I'm going out of town and (probably) won't have access to a computer. I'm working on the next chapter, but I might not have it done by the time I have to leave. So until then, leave me lots of love! :D


	8. Chapter 8

One disadvantage of not sleeping is that you have an awful lot of time to think. The whole night I wrestled with my thoughts. What if I offended Amanda? Did I come on too strong? I wasn't really trying to 'come on' at all, I acted out of complete spontaneity.

Shortly after dawn there was a soft knock on my door. I knew who it was even before he came in without waiting for a verbal signal. "Don't worry so much," Edward said as he casually stood in the doorway, "She's quite taken with you, you know." And _why_ do you know this?? "I noticed her thoughts at lunch today," he said softly. Before I could launch into a tirade he quickly added, "I knew you'd hate it, but it wasn't intentional. Or very intentional. I could have tuned her out, but it was too fascinating. She truly enjoys being with you, your little show tonight won't scare her off."

She doesn't know about us, does she? "No, she realized you're different than normal people but doesn't know why. She's curious, but not overly so. It's not a threat. Actually, I feel relatively sure you could tell her the truth and she wouldn't be alarmed. Freaked out, probably, but not terrified. I got a good look at her mind, she's very strong. And very tough. Not much will faze her."

But why me? Why on earth could she _possibly_ want to be around me? "You interest her. She likes the mystery of not knowing the complete truth about you. It amazes her you share so many interests, she never realized anyone living in such a small town could be so diverse. She acts like she hates your chivalry, but actually likes it. She sometimes wonders if you really exist."

I quirked an eyebrow, "She's not used to people being nice to her?" Edward paused, searching for words. "Not so much that, she's used to taking care of someone, she's not used to being taken care _of_. It takes her off guard. You're not scaring her off; in fact, you're drawing her in more. So calm down, Jasper!"

"I won't tell you anymore," Edward continued, "I know you want her privacy respected. I won't listen to her anymore, but I just wanted to tell you that. You've got an intriguing one here, don't be so hard on yourself." "Thank you," I said, in all sincerity. He smiled and silently slid out the door.

I relaxed after Edward's insight. At least I now knew she didn't hate me now, even if I didn't totally approve of how I had acquired this knowledge. I strolled out to the garage a few hours later, ready to go to school. Alice was already there, sitting atop the hood of my Mustang. I got the hint and pulled the keys from my pocket. We got in the car and Alice said, "I never doubted you, but I want you to know I'm very proud of you." I didn't say anything, she wasn't expecting a reply. The rest of the ride passed in relaxed silence.

The day probably couldn't have gone by any slower if it tried. I was anxious to see Amanda, yet nervous. Alice didn't seem worried about it, she was chipper as ever as we walked to lunch. "You've got to calm down!" she said in exasperation, "You're making me nervous!"

I looked over at our traditional lunch table and Amanda was already there talking to Emmett. She was laughing as Emmett, apparently, told some story called for overdramatic hand gestures. At least she didn't seem scarred for life.

"Hey!" she greeted my approach. I sat beside her and gave Emmett a curious look, hoping he hadn't been telling an embarrassing story about me. With some of Emmett's harebrained schemes there were a plethora of those…unfortunately.

"Hello, yourself," I responded, not entirely sure what to say. She wasn't perturbed by my presence as I had feared she would be, she was excited about something. "He wasn't telling you any embarrassing stories, was he?" I continued. Since she clearly wasn't upset with me I could quit stressing. "Not about you," she chuckled, casting a glance at Emmett, "About Edward." "Oh, well that's totally different then," I said, relaxing. As long as she never found out about the time Emmett physically held me down and made me listen to Hilary Duff music and wouldn't let me up until I admitted I liked it, all was right in the world.

"Do you mind too terribly giving me a ride home today?" she asked, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes to make contact with mine. "Not at all," I conceded. "Good, because I have something for you!" she chorused. "You didn't have to…" I began. "But I did, so there," she interrupted, giving me a playful annoyed face. I really didn't want her to repay me for yesterday, it was truly my pleasure. She could never understand how badly I needed her company; any price or any venture was repaid just by her presence.

"Well, what is it then?" I asked, "You can't leave me in suspense!!" "Oh, but I can and I will," she said devilishly. "Fine then, be difficult," I said, flicking a piece of the napkin I had been tearing into tiny pieces at her. I could sense everyone at the table staring at us, listening to our banter. She noticed it at the same time I did, and we both looked down at the table, trying to dodge the spotlight.

Rosalie piped up, asking me about something, to break the silence that she knew I found uncomfortable. I answered, but I wasn't paying any attention to her question, I was too focused on the being in the chair next to me. Alice soon chimed in to whatever we were talking about and the awkwardness diminished.

A few minutes later the bell rang to usher us to the next class. "I should have thought to look for sources yesterday at the bookstore," Amanda said in an ironic tone as we entered the classroom. "Sources?" I asked. "Yeah…for the history paper," she smirked, "someone was paying a lot of attention. "That's not my specialty," I shrugged, "but it's about the Civil War and I have a ton of stuff about that at home. You're welcome to come look if you like."

I couldn't believe I just offered that. Of all the stupid things I could have done this was quite high in ranking. Before she could utter a response, the teacher barged in and decided it was time for him to start droning on about something I didn't care to listen to. Emmett cast me an amused expression, which I fervently ignored by taking perfect notes of the foolish lecture.

Class eventually ended, after what seemed like decades. Amanda said she had to go to the art room for a minute, so I waited for her by the school's front doors. Emmett took this as an opportunity to ambush me.

"So….," he began, "Are you bringing her by the house today?? Carlisle and Esme are dying to meet this girl you've been inseparable from for a month." "What?" I said, turning to him in shock, "A _month_?? It's been like a week!" "I beg to differ, little brother," Emmett insisted, obviously incredibly amused. "So are you bringing her by today or not?"

"I don't know…," I grumbled as Amanda appeared around the corner, "Ask Alice." "Good idea," Emmett concurred and turned to walk away. He said bye to Amanda and then disappeared. I was a tad relieved by his absence, yet completely dumbfounded. There was no way I've known this girl for a month. I may be a vampire but I still have a concept of time. Or at least I used to think so.

"I can't believe it's already March," Amanda remarked, as if reading my mind. "Me either," I honestly agreed. I still didn't think this was possible. I felt like time had stopped since I met her, or at least time for me had. It was so strange, I wasn't sure what to think of it. But I found myself not minding it. I actually liked it and that worried me endlessly.

She just shook her head as I opened the car door for her. I laughed at her, earning a glare in return. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she informed me as we pulled out of the parking lot. "Why won't you let me be nice to you?" I asked, pretending to be hurt. "It's just _weird_. I don't know," she said, leafing through my case of CDs that had been in her seat. "At least you can give me a good answer," I joked, earning a playful slap on the shoulder. She probably had just bruised her hand, but if it hurt she didn't say anything.

A few minutes I found myself standing on her front porch as she unlocked the door. I followed her inside, anxious about what she had in store for me. I hoped she hadn't spent a lot of money or anything, I'd feel guilty if she thought I wanted compensation. I followed her up to her room, where I was ordered to close my eyes after I entered.

I obliged and could hear her pulling something that sounded large out from under the bed. I could tell she leaned whatever it was against the foot of the bed. I could feel her nervousness as she stood beside me and told me to open my eyes.

"Do you like it?" she asked, still nervous. I could hardly take my eyes off the painting she had made. Made for _me_. It was highly abstract, swirls of brilliant colors blended together perfectly into no distinct shape. It looked almost like rippling water, only in blues, reds, purples and hints of black in the shading. I could have spent hours looking at it.

"It's incredible!" I said. Before I realized what I was doing, I was giving her a hug. I could tell she was thrilled with my response to my present and didn't even feel repulsed when I hugged her. "You didn't have to do this," I went on, "But I love it." "I'm glad," she said, smiling as she watched me look at the painting. I couldn't think of a place in my entire house that would do this justice.

"Do you want to come home with me?" I asked, before I realized what I was saying. "You can help me find the best spot to hang this and then you can look at my Civil War stuff, if you like." "That sounds awesome," she said smiling in enthusiasm. It didn't take anyone with my special ability to tell she was excited about spending more time with me. This excited me.

I carefully picked up the canvas, making sure I didn't damage the wood frame that supported the fabric with my excessive strength. "It's not a newborn baby," Amanda said, amused by my precaution, "You don't have to touch it like it's gonna shatter." I chose to ignore this as I maneuvered it into the backseat of my car. She rolled her eyes at me as we pulled out of the driveway.

'Where are your grandparents?" I asked suddenly. I hoped she didn't think I was being nosey. "At a doctor's appointment," she answered, seemingly unperturbed. "My grandfather has leukemia," she elaborated, and I sensed the sadness that made me first notice her rear its head again. He must not be doing well then, I gathered. "I'm sorry," I offered quietly as we pulled into my driveway. She shrugged, I could tell she didn't want to discuss it further.

"I should warn you," I began, trying to change the subject, "You'll probably be bombarded. I don't bring people around often, either. My family won't know quite what to make of this." "It can't be as bad as my grandparents," she laughed, "Besides, I know everyone except your parents."

"That's true," I agreed, hopping out of the car and opening her door. She just rolled her eyes and got out. I then pulled the canvas out of the backseat and we made our way to the front door, where I knew my overly excited family would be waiting to ambush us.

A/N: this is definitely the last chapter until next week, but I didn't think I would finish this one before I had to take off, but I did….insomnia again. Ugh. Anyway, leave me lots of love until then! ~Michelle


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Things are about to start picking up in the story, I realized this is getting quite long and I don't really want to write a novel here…I'm far too lazy for that :P. Alas, enough of my rambling and here's the long awaited new chapter after my hiatus, enjoy…

I hesitantly opened the door, expecting a barrage of my family members to swarm us like bees. However, much to my amazement, no one attacked us at the door. Amanda followed me into the living room of the house, where only Emmett was…watching a football game or something. I wasn't paying attention. I was more concerned with what the rest of them might be plotting. Maybe an elaborate ambush or intervention-esque scene.

"Hey Jazz," Emmett greeted, then after seeing Amanda behind me added, "Amanda! You finally came over!!" Amanda laughed at his bellowing and waved. "Where is everyone?" I asked, furrowing my brow in borderline anxiety. "I dunno, they're around somewhere," Emmett answered, giving us his full attention since his game was on commercial. He looked particularly mischievous today, I didn't trust him.

"Yeah, anyway, we're going to go upstairs and look at some of my books," I said, giving Emmett a reproving look ahead of time for whatever madness I feared was coming on. He laughed at me then shooed us away, his beloved game had come back on.

I turned to speak to Amanda, but she wasn't there, she was looking at Esme's drawings and plans for the house she was renovating that were on the table a few feet away in the dining area that opened into the living room. "Sorry," Amanda began, looking up sheepishly, "I didn't mean to snoop. But I saw paint samples and was instantly intrigued." "Not a problem," I said, "Esme, my adopted mother, likes to renovate and decorate old houses." "She has some awesome ideas," she said, gesturing to a few of the sketches. "She, Alice and Rosalie sit for hours and pick all this out, they seem to almost enjoy it," I said in bewilderment, "it must be a woman thing." "Shut up…Jazz." Amanda chuckled in sarcasm.

"Oh God, not you too!" I moaned. I wasn't a fan of the nickname. I thought it was a nice gesture and all, kind of a sign of affection and acceptance, but I still found it horrendous. _Jazz_. I shuddered.

"Yeah, that is pretty bad…be nice to me or I'll call you that _all_ the time!" she laughed. "Blackmail's the way to go!" Emmett shouted from the living room. "I'll remember that, _Em_!" I retorted, meandering with Amanda back out to the living room. He scowled and turned back to his game. "So, do you guys call Edward 'Ed'? Because that would be too hilarious," Amanda grinned broadly, clearly amused by our banter. "Er, no, I value my life…and my car," Emmett said, "I did once and it didn't end well." I chuckled as I recalled that particular incident. It took Emmett almost a week to collect all the pieces of his jeep from the woods. Even Rosalie couldn't reassemble the jeep.

"Shall we?" I asked, gesturing towards the stairs and holding out one arm to her, taking the canvas in the other. "Let's," she concurred, linking her arm with mine, "Although I think I can manage on my own." "I know, but it's more fun to be dramatic in front of Emmett," I admitted, leading her down the hall to my room. I could hear Alice piddling in her room which made me all the more suspicious. I shrugged it off and kicked open my door.

I probably should have tidied up a bit; you'd think that having unlimited time would have made me a cleaner person. Or a cleaner creature, rather. My room was a bit bland in comparison to hers, the walls were blue and the bedding was gray. It was Alice's doing, I couldn't have cared less, but she said they were 'calming' colors and wanted to do it, so I obliged. One whole wall was nothing but bookshelves, yet books were still strewn around the room. I didn't really have anything on the walls but there was a large window that provided an opening to the outside world.

"Sorry it's in disarray," I apologized, unsure of what to say. Not many people, even the ones I lived with, ever came in my room, it was odd to have someone, a living person nonetheless, in my personal space.

"I'll try and get over it," Amanda rolled her eyes at my apology. I always felt like I was saying the wrong things around her, yet they never took her by surprise or bothered her. Of course, her excellent sarcasm skills could diffuse any situation, which nicely diffused my increasing bouts stupidity around her.

I wondered what would happen if I told her the truth about me. What I really was. I reasoned that she would either freak out and skip town, or take it in stride. I didn't think she would freak out, she seemed quite unshakable. I entertained the notion of telling her, which terrified me; I had never even thought of letting anyone, let alone some random human girl, get so close to me.

"Find anything interesting?" I asked, sitting on the corner of the bed and watching her peruse the thousands of titles contained on my shelves. "I think you have every book I've ever read, wanted to read, or even thought about reading and then some," she said in what I perceived as admiration. I smiled and watched her continue looking before I directed her to the area where I kept my Civil War books. I don't even know why I had Civil War books, I was there and I'm quite aware of how it happened. Maybe a few shreds of me were clinging on to my lost humanity or some such.

"I'm gonna start coming to you when I need sources for papers," Amanda laughed, sitting down in the floor and flipping through the large book in her lap. I found myself watching her, mesmerized by her movements. Even just flipping through the pages, her movements were almost catlike in their grace. I had never seen that in a person before. I figured I was, obviously, losing my mind. It was only a matter of time, really, my brain had served me well for nearly 200 years, it had to go sometime. We can't all be as lucky as Carlisle.

"I've got some original things from that era, too," I began, "Nothing much really, just an old uniform and some photographs. It's not museum quality or anything, but I'll be glad to show you if you want." Her eyes lit up. "That would be awesome!" she chorused, popping up off the floor. I opened the closet and pulled out a box that was supposed to protect against moths and the aging of garments or whatever. Alice had given it to me.

I set the box on the bed and went back to the closet, digging for an envelope with the photos. I found it shortly and flung it onto the bed, also. "You can open it," I encouraged, "it won't bite." "I know _that_," she sneered, "I don't want to damage it or anything. I'd feel bad if it disintegrated in my hands, but that's the kind of luck I have."

"I hardly think you can damage it," I stated, amused by her reluctance. She opened the box and flung aside the paper that the uniform was wrapped in…another of Alice's doings. She gazed at the jacket that rested on top, she seemed afraid to touch it. "Go ahead, pick it up," I encouraged, curious to further see her reaction. I absentmindedly began flipping through the pictures I had retrieved, trying to disguise my staring at her.

She gave me a wary look. "Just don't hate me if I destroy it," she mumbled, earning a grin from me that she didn't see. She then picked up the jacket ,laid it on the bed and began smoothing it out to better see what adorned the front. "Whitlock," she said quietly, grazing a finger over the name patch. "Who's is this?" she asked, looking up at me curiously.

"Mine," I answered, making a snap decision that not even Alice could have seen coming. "Well yeah, it's yours _now_, but who wore it? One of your ancestors?" she continued, as if she could ever have guessed the truth. "I did," I said quietly, reaching over and handing her one of the pictures.

She glanced down at it then back up at me. I sat very still, afraid that any sudden movement would alarm her. But I didn't pick up on any fear from her... yet. Shock or surprise maybe, but not fear. "It looks like you…but it can't be," she said slowly, searching for words, "It doesn't make any sense at all. This is some prank isn't it? I bet Emmett's in on it."

"It's no prank," I assured her. "Then…what's going on?" she asked cautiously. "It's a long story," I said, looking her in the eyes for the first time since I had started this. "I've got time," she countered, sitting on the bed next to me. "But not as much time as I have," I began, dreading saying the next sentence, "You see, I'm a vampire."


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm glad you think you're funny," Amanda rolled her eyes, staring at me like I was a lunatic…which I clearly am for even thinking of bringing this up. I shrugged, "It's the truth. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to." "It's not that, I know you wouldn't lie to me, but this isn't _possible_," she said, "Vampires don't exist. You've read too many Anne Rice books or something."

"I wish that was the case," I said softly. "You're really not kidding, are you?" she asked again. "Not at all," I assured her. Her response had me nearly floored. She wasn't afraid, she was curious. A moment of silence passed as she became lost in thought, once again I wished I could read minds like Edward. "You're not going to run screaming from the room?" I eventually asked.

She shook her head, "I'm too intrigued to run screaming from the room. Too lazy, too. Are you planning to tell me more, or am I supposed to ask?" I shrugged, I had been braced for the more dramatic reaction, "What could you possibly want to know??" I found myself being reluctant to share the gruesome details of my past with her. "Everything," she answered, eyeing me like she thought _I_ might be the one to bolt from the room.

"It's not a happy story, like a fairy tale or something," I said, giving her one last chance to back out, "It's real and repulsive." "I can handle it," she assured me, sliding back a bit on the bed and pulling her legs up under her, as if she was readying for a long story. I scooted back beside her, I didn't want her staring at me. It's part of my nature, I guess, preferring to be in the background.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I muttered, before beginning my story. "I was born in 1843 in Texas…." I found myself telling her everything: lying about my age to get in the army, being changed by Maria, my responsibilities with the newborns, and eventually being adopted by the Cullens. Somewhere during my monologue she had wrapped her arm around mine, in a supportive gesture. I supposed she sensed this was hard for me to talk about. I didn't realize until I after I shut up that she had also taken my hand. I didn't notice it, it felt right…I only noticed when she took her hand away to reach over and pick up the picture of me in my army uniform that the army had taken for all the soldiers.

"So, you're 165 then?" she asked, looking at the picture then at me. "164," I corrected, "My birthday, if you can call it that, is in October. On Halloween, ironically." She nodded, looking back to the photo. "You're eyes were lighter then" she said quietly, "They're closer to black now." "They're usually a goldish color," I explained, "they turn black when I haven't hunted in awhile." I immediately regretted using the word 'hunted' but it didn't seem to faze her. Apparently she was just as crazy as me.

"How do you…hunt?" she asked, "I mean, won't someone catch on if people keep disappearing?" I shook my head. "We don't hunt people, Carlisle considers us to be vegetarian vampires. We only drink the blood of animals. That's what makes our eyes the strange gold color, but we're not sure exactly why." "Is it hard for you to be around people, then?" she continued cautiously, not wanting to upset me. As if _I'm_ the one that should be upset.

"Yes," I admitted, "I'm the newest one to this…diet. I have a harder time with it than the rest of them because of my background. I mean, I existed for nearly a century feeding off humans. After so long, it's a hard habit to adjust to breaking. Everyone, excluding Carlisle, was introduced into this lifestyle upon being created, I wasn't." "Is it hard for you to be around me?" she asked. "No," I said truthfully, "It really isn't. Being at school is excruciating, but with you it isn't. I don't _want_ to hurt you, it isn't really even an option. That overshadows my thirst."

Silence set in for a moment. "Why are you still here?" I blurted out, "Aren't you afraid of me?? I've _killed_ people…more people than all the serial killers you can think of combined, but yet you're still here, calm as hell, and I'm not even doing anything!!" I felt bad for swearing, I was raised not to swear in front of a lady, but it just came out.

"I'm not afraid of _you_," she began, "Just what you could _do_." That made sense, in an odd sort of way. "But," I interrupted, leaning in closer to her," Do you not realize I could kill you right now? I _won't_ but I could. I could do it so fast you'd never even see it coming!"

"I know," she said, not perturbed by my outburst. "You're taking this far too well," I said, still awaiting her to suddenly start screaming or something, she merely shrugged. "The rest of them too?" she asked, gesturing to the rest of the house. I nodded, shaking some hair out of my eyes in the process.

"What's it like?" she asked. "What's what like?" I countered. "Everything. I imagine immortality isn't nearly as glamorous as it sounds, the constant moving around and perpetually being a teenager. But, still, what's it like?" she continued. Her analysis surprised me, most people seem to think living forever is this great thing.

"Obnoxious," I answered with an unexpected smile, " I've been through high school from 9th grade to graduation nine times. I hate it, but the younger we start out the longer we can stay in one place. Then I usually go away for college for awhile, which I somewhat enjoy. At least college is borderline challenging. I have five bachelor's degrees, three masters, and a medical degree."

"Medical degree?" she laughed. "Yeah… in the 70s Edward and went to medical school for kicks," I chortled with her, "We were bored." "What did you mean earlier that I was calm and you weren't doing it?" she asked abruptly. "I have the ability to…manipulate peoples' emotions. I can also sense what they feel," I explained. 'Why?" she asked. "I don't know. Carlisle thinks I must have been remarkably charismatic when I was alive, but it's just and idea. There's no reason, that we know of, for some of us having such strange abilities and some of us not."

"Some of your family can do things?" she kept on. I nodded. "Alice can see the future, in a way. The future is remarkably fragile, so her visions constantly change, but nonetheless. Edward can read minds, except for Bella's." "Uh oh," Amanda mumbled, "This'll be awkward."

"No, it won't," I assured her, "he tunes out me, Emmett and Rosalie. I told him to do the same to you. I know he can't help it, the same way I can't help knowing exactly what everyone feels, but I still find it a touch invasive. Not to mention annoying." "I could see that," she agreed, "Will you leave Forks after we graduate in a few months?"

"I don't know," I began, "I guess I'll go away to school for a bit or something. It isn't really significant. Why do you want to know?" "So I'll know how attached I can get before you have to move on," she answered sheepishly. "_Why _could you _possibly_ volunteer to get attached to a monster like me?"

"You're not a monster," she corrected adamantly, "and you shouldn't try to convince yourself that you are." I snorted and mumbled, "Suit yourself." "So why did you tell me all this? For all you know I could run out and tell everyone and screw you completely over," she asked. "So you know what you're getting into before you get more attached," I answered, putting finger quotes around the word attached.

"I should probably get you home, John and Lillian will be wondering where you are," I added. "They'll figure it out," Amanda said, "But you have a point, it's pretty late." She followed my lead and followed me to the door where she suddenly asked, "What color were your eyes before?" "I can't remember," I said as we went down the stairs, "For most vampires, human memories are foggy and vague. The memory of transformation is often the strongest."

"Do you remember anything about being…human?" she asked as we strolled out to my car. "A few things," I said, opening her door and earning a glare, "I remember I had an older brother and a little sister. My mother was blond. We lived on a farm and my father was a blacksmith. I don't remember anymore details, and even that seems hazy."

"That's sad," she interjected as we sped down the road. "Damn kids," I muttered as I heard some stupid teenager's bass booming from his car, nearly rattling my brain. I felt people should really be more considerate to those of us who have ultra sensitive hearing. Amanda burst out laughing. "You are _such_ a crotchety old man!"

"Yeah Yeah Yeah," I sneered at her, pulling into her driveway, hopping out of the car and opening her door all before she stopped laughing. "Hurry up, whippersnapper," I smiled, waiting by her door. "Not all of us are as fast as you," she pointed out, getting out and walking up to the porch. "You don't have to walk me to the door," she insisted, "I think I'll be okay on the moderately well lit, ten foot stretch of concrete."

"Better safe than sorry," I said, matching pace with her. We reached the door and said our goodbyes. For some strange reason I'll never understand, I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. To my equal amazement, she was neither afraid or repulsed by my coldness. She just smiled and said, "Get going, old fart." I laughed at her, said bye again, and left.


	11. Chapter 11

I took my own car to school without prompting from Alice. This had become a normal routine over the past few weeks, picking Amanda up before school and giving her a ride back. Sometimes I spent time at her house after school, sometimes she came to mine. Regardless of the location, we nearly always spent the afternoons together.

She wasn't at all put off by what I was, I would have bet money on her freaking completely out and running away at any moment, but it never happened. I later learned that Emmett and Edward had a bet going about that very same thing…Emmett won. Amanda merely asked me questions about some of the technicalities of being a vampire. My answers seemed a small price to pay, on my part, for her company.

I skulked into the lunchroom one day after a particularly grueling morning of petty, boring classes. Amanda was already there, laughing with Emmett while Rose looked on in fond amusement. Bella was also there, watching Rose's reaction in amazement.

My family had taken remarkably well to her. Carlisle was quite taken with her. Esme had unofficially, unbeknownst to Amanda, adopted her as another daughter. Emmett playfully picked on her, as he did with nearly everyone, but Amanda usually had something to fire back. This entertained the rest of us. Edward didn't have a problem with Amanda, but I perceived that he was perhaps a touch bitter about all the grief I had given him over Bella, and then I turned around and did the same thing. But I knew he would never have confronted me over it.

Alice adored Amanda, they had the same affinity for playing with makeup, although Amanda wore hardly any. Ironically, Alice never badgered her to give her a makeover like she did to Bella. Alice claimed Amanda wasn't as "fashionably hopeless" as Bella. But this still didn't stop Alice from giving her clothes that served no practical purpose. Neither Amanda nor I understood exactly why she would _ever_ need a violet silk cocktail dress in Forks, but nonetheless, Alice insisted she take it. Rosalie had accepted her and even viewed her as a friend, much to the shock of everyone.

I sat down beside her and observed her and Emmett. Emmett was picking on her for being shorter than him, lately he'd taken to calling her 'shortstuff'. I found myself involuntarily glowering at him, I didn't like when he picked on her, even if it was in fun. But she didn't mind, and I would know if she did, so I never said anything. I found myself growing more protective of her…and I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

"You've put up with this for 50 years?" Amanda asked me, gesturing to Emmett. "It makes you understand alcoholics, doesn't it," I said. She laughed at me and stuck her tongue out at Emmett, "At least _someone's_ on my side." "I shouldn't let you talk about my husband like that," Rose chimed in, "But you're totally right." I could have felt Bella's amazement at Rose agreeing with Amanda from across the state.

I felt that Bella had taken it too personally how well Rose liked Amanda. Rose confided to me that Amanda didn't bother her because she was so much less breakable than Bella. Which was true, Amanda could usually make it through the day without maiming herself on a household object or tripping over nothing. Rose also felt that she was less likely to be scared and bold off and expose us. I had come to trust Bella more with our secret, but she seemed a lot more fragile, emotionally and physically, than Amanda.

Alice appeared and seemed preoccupied. She sat by Edward on the other side of the table and the two began whispering about something. I could have heard them, but I was too lazy to strain to do so over the haze of volume in the cafeteria. Emmett and Rose were listening too, but I was too lost in my thoughts to bother.

"You okay?" Amanda asked me suddenly. "Of course, should I not be?" I responded. "I just wanted to make sure, you seem…preoccupied. Nothing's wrong, is it?" she continued. I could feel my siblings becoming anxious about something. I shrugged it off. "Nothing at all," I answered, wondering what the fuss on the other side of the table was about.

"Don't lie to me," she said, quirking an eyebrow. Damn that perception of hers. "I'm not, I never would," I began, "They're worried about something and I don't know what. But it's probably nothing…Alice has been known to be overdramatic." She seemed to accept my answer, but added, "You'll tell me if something goes wrong, won't you?" "Absolutely," I promised, meaning it.

I could feel Alice eyeing me with urgency. That made me nervous; did she foresee something repulsive that I would do? The bell rang and we all stood up to leave. Alice barged up and took my arm, wheeling me away from Amanda, who shot a questioning look but assumed whatever this was about was important and didn't demand explanation.

Alice practically dragged me outside to an awning adjacent to the building. It was completely deserted, no person in their right mind would voluntarily be outside in this weather. Good thing we weren't in our right minds…or human. I could sense borderline panic radiating off Alice and I instantly understood something of urgency had taken place.

"More people have been killed in Seattle," she began tentatively. I shrugged, "A serial killer." "Forty people are dead," she continued, " All with the same patterns. Each victim was killed in the dead of night, clearly a surprise attack, and all the blood was drained from their bodies. Edward thinks a…newborn army might be in Seattle."

I absorbed this for a moment. There were several signs indicating she was right. All the blood being drained was a sign of lack of self control and sloppiness that's prevalent in newborns. And the lack of secrecy. A human serial killer would be more careful and not kill so many so close together. But why could someone be creating an army in Seattle? It's not like down south here, there's not a lot of heavily populated areas to fight about amongst vampires.

"Of course, I can't believe I didn't see it before," I said quietly, "But this doesn't make any sense…there's no logic to it happening in Seattle." "I know, I'm watching it closely," Alice confirmed, "We need you. We always have, but especially now since this is your area. Stay close, okay?" I nodded in agreement, sensing her panic and sincerity. We headed back inside and went to our separate classes. I strolled into history late, earning a glare from whatshisname, which might have been more meaningful if I cared. I could tell Amanda was worried about me, she kept giving me curious glances.

Class ended and the pair of us bolted toward the door. I waited for her by her locker, as usual, still lost in thought. She still hadn't asked me about anything yet, I supposed she figured it was of the non human variety of issue. I prepared myself to expect a barrage of interrogation after we got in the Mustang, even though I knew she wasn't the pushy type. It was easier to prepare for the worst than be blindsided.

"I don't want to bother you about it, I don't have to hear about every aspect of your life and all, but…" she trailed off with a questioning look as we pulled out of the parking lot. I prepared to tell her the truth. "There have been several people murdered in Seattle, I'm sure you've heard of it, it's all over the news," I paused and glanced at Amanda, who nodded, "We think it might be vampires doing it. A newborn, most likely, which is the most dangerous variety. And more than one, too. I'm afraid someone is creating an army of newborns, but I can't decipher a reason why they would pick Seattle. I told you about the battles in the south, but it's not the same here. No area here is worth risking the Volturi's wrath to claim."

She was quiet a moment as she digested my monologue. "Bella," she said suddenly. "What?" I stared at her. "You told me that that vampire, the tracker, hunted her all the way down to Phoenix but you guys killed him. What if that made someone upset and they're trying to take revenge? That's probably a bad idea though, you know more about this than me." "That actually makes a lot of sense, I'll run it by Edward," I said. I was impressed, I'm sure her theory was in the back of all our minds, but for her to put it together so quickly, after knowing about our world for such a short time, astounded me.

"Can you make me a promise?" she asked suddenly. "I make no guarantees," I answered. "I'm not asking you for anything outrageous," she began, "But can you not…censor the truth from me, like Edward does to Bella? I know, in a sense, it's for her own good, but, I mean, if her life's in danger she deserves to know the truth." "I promise," I said earnestly, "I actually agree with you. Edward stifles her knowledge too much, especially when she wants to be one of us so badly."

"She does?" Amanda asked, her eyes widening. I nodded as I pulled into her drive, "She badgers Edward about changing her all the time. She doesn't realize the seriousness of what she wants. She only sees it as staying with Edward forever, not as becoming a monster that must survive by taking the lives of others."

"You're not a monster," she argued. I snorted and hopped out of the car to open her door. She acted like she didn't like my chivalry, but I knew she was secretly growing a bit fond of the gesture. "That's really selfish of her," Amanda continued, as I retrieved her bag from the backseat and we headed up the driveway. Apparently I looked as shocked as I felt because she followed up with, "Well it is. Can't she see that Edward thinks he's doing the best thing for her? He wants her to _live_, not take that away from her."

"If only she could see how logical that is," I agreed. She unlocked the door and we entered an empty house. "Where are your grandparents?" I asked. I had taken to liking the older couple, they were fun to be around. They were usually jovial, which rubbed off on me. I did wonder if they were just glad to see Amanda interacting with someone else, apparently, much like me, her voluntary interaction with most people was extremely selective. Maybe they were just glad to see her having a friend, or they could have been like that all the time. Either way was pleasant for me.

"Doctors' appointment in Spokane," she answered. I assumed she was speaking of her grandfather. "How's he doing?" I implored further. She shrugged, took her bag from me, and flung it on the couch. I could feel a sea of emotions swell up inside her, anxiety, insecurity, and the most present of all was the deep sense of sadness that I had first noticed about her. I didn't press the matter. She had respected my privacy earlier by not demanding an answer, and I would do the same.

She changed the subject and started rambling about the Civil War paper that was due in a few days. Her rambling was extremely entertaining; I was quite content to listen to her string of verbalized, random thoughts. I could have written both of our papers in my sleep, if that was possible. I had actually finished mine in less than ten minutes. She had recruited me for the source of her paper, which I had no problem with. It would save her the trouble of digging up information that the person two feet away could provide in a heartbeat. We went upstairs to her room, where I dictated and she typed out exactly what I said on the Battle of Galveston.

After the paper was finished, I excused myself to leave for home. I needed to get back and see if Alice had seen anything further about the Seattle vampire(s). I also needed to tell Edward about Amanda's theory. We said our goodbyes and I sped off toward home.

Everyone was in the living room watching the news when I arrived. I didn't want to bring up Amanda's idea with Bella being in earshot, I didn't want to prematurely alarm her, so I ran through it in my head so Edward could hear. He nodded and muttered, "It's possible, but I'll have to think on it." Bella never heard him. I felt rather hypocritical for giving Edward another piece of information to shield from Bella, but there wasn't any factuality to it, so she wasn't in danger…yet.

Edward took Bella home after awhile and I eventually meandered up to my room. After so long, news broadcasts bored me if they didn't have anything new to say. I loathed it when the commentators rephrased what they already knew over and over. That's probably why I chose to spend so much time alone.

The clock said it was 1am, but that had no significance to me, when Alice appeared in my doorway out of nowhere. "Amanda needs you," she said urgently. "Why? Is something wrong? Is she alright?" I pressed. "She's fine, but she needs you," Alice reiterated, "She's on a roof…she's not a jumper is she?" "Don't be ridiculous," I mumbled as I dashed downstairs.

Oooh, another cliffhanger, sorry guys!!! Thanks for all the sweet reviews! For the record, I'm not trying to bash Edward and Bella, but I wanted to approach their circumstance from a different point of view, and I think Jasper's is about as different a POV as you can get. 

~Michelle


	12. Chapter 12

For some remarkably stupid reason, I decided to drive to Amanda's house instead of running. Running would have been a lot quicker, since I got stuck behind a car that was adamantly going the speed limit. Charlie Swan was the driver, of all people, and to avoid the hassle of being pulled over I opted not to speed. The annoyance actually pained me. Eventually he puttered along enough for me to turn on Amanda's street, escaping his obnoxious show of following the law. I walked up to her house, hugging my jacket closer to me in the rain…a useless human habit that never wore off.

Alice had said she was on the roof, so instead of going in the house I grabbed a branch of the large oak tree beside the porch and swung myself up into it. From there I casually jumped onto the roof and made my way to the awning we spent so much time under, where I knew she would be.

Amanda didn't notice my silent approach, she was curled up in the corner staring blankly out into the rain. It looked like she had been crying but wasn't anymore. She jumped as I sat down beside her, the overwhelming sense of sadness that consumed her enveloped me also. "Are you alright?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to upset her further, but I wanted to know.

She nodded, "How did you know to come ov-?" "Alice," I interrupted. "Right," she muttered. "Are you alright?" I repeated, evading her attempts to change the subject. "I guess," she finally answered, after a moment's pause. "What kind of an answer is that?" I demanded softly.

"Mine," Amanda replied, "I don't know… I think I'm fine. Or eventually I will be, anyway." "Do you want to tell me what happened?" I questioned, "You don't have to, I don't mean to interrogate you, but I just want to help you." "I know, I'm sorry I'm being difficult," she apologized, wiping away a tear threatening to spill over. "That's not important, just talk to me," I assured her.

"I think I told you my grandmother took my grandfather to a doctor's appointment in Spokane today," she began, her voice soft compared to the torrent of rain. "Anyway, apparently he just died. I don't know if something went wrong in a test or what, but he died." She trailed off, choking back tears instead of continuing. "I'm sorry," I offered, putting my arm around her shoulders. To my surprise, she moved in closer to me. I knew this was unusually hard on her, from what she had told me her father had died when she was quite young and she didn't really remember him. She and John, her grandfather, were really close, seeing as how he took on the role of the father figure.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" I offered, "Take you to Spokane so you can be with Lillian or something?" "No, I'm not in the mood to be around anyone," she muttered, feeling guilty about that statement but not entirely regretting it. "I can leave if you want, I didn't mean to intrude," I said, not thinking of it before. "I want you to stay," she muttered into my shoulder, where she had buried her face.

"I'm a vortex of bad luck," she said randomly. "No you're not," I argued. I thought she was one of the best things to ever happen to me, but I hadn't voiced that to anyone yet. If anything my "luck" had significantly improved since she entered my life.

"I end up losing everyone close to me, I've lost friends, all my family that I claim except my grandmother…that doesn't happen to the majority of people, so it must be something about _me_," she elaborated., "that's why I was so afraid to get close to you…I don't want anything to happen to you. I can't lose _you_."

"I don't think that's a big problem," I joked, lamely trying to lighten the mood, "I'm about as close to indestructible as you can get." She didn't say anything, but shivered involuntarily. I shrugged my jacket off and draped it around her. "Jasper?" she asked suddenly, looking up to meet my gaze." "Yes?"

"I know you don't really like to use your um…power to help with every little thing, but could you…I…I don't know how ask. I don't want to feel like this anymore," she requested, staring down at the shingles on the roof. "Of course," I immediately agreed, sending a wave of calmness through her. "Thank you," she mumbled, leaning back into my shoulder.

I brushed a lock of damp hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. "You should go inside, before you freeze," I suggested. She shrugged. How I adored such an ambiguous response. I scooped her up and darted from our small shelter from the rain to her window before she had time to react. I jumped down into her open window so gracefully neither of us was even slightly jolted. I was moderately impressed with myself.

I set her on the bed so she was leaning against the headboard and pulled the sheets around her. "You've been around Esme too long," she muttered, amused in spite of her current state. "Sorry?" I offered, not sure if that was a compliment or insult…as if being compared to Esme could ever be a negative thing. "You're being all motherly or something," she explained. "Just because I don't get hypothermia doesn't mean you can't, it's hardly mothering," I said, wrapping another blanket that I had found on the floor around her.

I sat on the other side of the bed next to her, I didn't want to seem presumptuous but closer proximity made my ability to help her stronger. She moved closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder again. "You need to warm up, being close to me is the last thing you should do," I pointed out. "I'll risk it," she mumbled. I didn't see what possible comfort my presence could have been, other than my inhuman ability, but now wasn't the time to ask.

"You should go to sleep," I said, glancing at the clock on her desk, "It's nearly 3am." "I can't," she said simply. "I can help with that, if you want," I offered. I can't actually make people drowsy, but it is possible to relax them to the point of sleep. "Okay," she agreed softly.

We were silent a few minutes as my handiwork began to take affect. I could feel her physical tenseness dissolving. "Will you stay?" she asked suddenly, "Unless you have something actually productive to be doing." "I'll be here as long as you need," I assured her. I had all the time in the world to be 'productive'; she was all that was important to me at the moment. It's strange that after living for nearly two centuries and traveling the world that all of a sudden my entire world could exist inside a tiny bedroom in the nowhere town of Forks.

She had dozed off and I listened to the sound of her even breathing. I looked at the old photographs on her walls. They were mostly of cathedrals, I wondered if she had ever been to some of them. Or if she wanted to go. I glanced at one of the books strewn on the bedside table…Anne Rice of all things. I quietly snorted in amusement and immediately worried that my abrupt movement had disturbed her. I flipped through it absent mindedly, intrigued to see the many falsities presented. Sleeping in a coffin sounds entertaining, I should try it sometime. Only I couldn't sleep, so I would just have to settle for lying there awkwardly.

I could have watched her sleep and have been endlessly entertained, but I didn't want to creep her out. Someone staring at me for hours on end would have bothered me, so I didn't want to do the same to her. I would have felt like a leering old man…which I guess is an accurate description.

My thoughts raced for the next few hours, their fast pace contrasted with my perfectly still body. Another quirk of being a vampire. I stayed so still once I actually had begun to collect dust. Emmett threatened to swiffer me…whatever a "swiffer" was. I could see rays of sunlight coming in through the window, which worried me a little. I hadn't told Amanda that I sparkle in the sun. I wasn't a fan of sparkling, it wasn't my nature. Alice was the sparkler in our group. Wasn't a sparkler some form of firework or something? I wondered if there was such a thing as vampire ADD.  
The clock said it was nearing 9am when Amanda began to stir. "Stupid sun," she muttered, shielding her face from it in my shoulder. I chuckled and she jumped and looked up at me. "You stayed," she said with a small smile. "I told you I would, you didn't believe me?" I asked. "I don't remember asking," she admitted, "but thank you." I nodded, not feeling the need to say 'you're welcome' because that implied I was out something. Out of my mind maybe, but nothing more than that.

"If you're ready to get up, I can cook you breakfast," I offered. "You _cook_?" she asked incredulously. "And not too badly, either," I replied, "Bella says I make a good omelet, but I personally wouldn't know." "Sounds good to me," she said, stretching and sliding out of bed. We went downstairs, where I insisted she rest on the couch while I cooked. She rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Her mild protest always amused me.

I flipped the egg concoction out of the skillet and onto a plate and brought it to her in the next room. She had the TV on a station showing the old 'Dracula' movie. "You've _got_ to be kidding me," I moaned as I sat on the couch with her. She shrugged and tossed the remote at me, as if I cared about television. "This is good," she said, swallowing a bite of her breakfast, "You're like Martha Stewart or something, in addition to being the walking chill pill." I laughed at her comparison and shut up so she could eat.

"Are you expecting someone?" I asked a few minutes later. "I don't think so, why?" she said. "Someone's about to pull in the drive," I explained. "It might be my grandmother, or my aunt….ugh," she said, glowering at the coffee table, "If it is her, I apologize in advance for her obnoxiousness. You can eat her if you want, I won't tell anyone. Except Edward, who would already know… damnit, Edward!" "Tempting offer, but I'll pass," I smirked, "I'll be sure and file that offer away." "You think I'm kidding," Amanda sneered as the front door opened, revealing a woman with a very unpleasant demeanor and bad dye job.

"Who're you?" she barked as she plopped two large bags on the floor. "This is Jasper," Amanda said in a forced introduction. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I said, attempting to be polite even though she had a personality like battery acid. "You know you're not supposed to have boys over when no one's here," the woman declared. "I wasn't aware of that rule." "Yes you were, it's always been one of my rules," she carried on. "_You_ don't live here, _you_ can't tell me what to do. They don't have a problem with Jasper being over anytime, they like him, so don't go pushing your juvenile 'rules' off on me," Amanda retorted, growing angrier by the second, "Besides, he just came over to make sure I was fine and made me breakfast. As if I have to justify anything to _you_."

"Leave," the aunt said, glaring at me and pointing toward the door. I didn't see a point in contesting, so I stood up to leave. Amanda followed me to the door and onto the porch. "I'm sorry about Barbara, you can still eat her if you want," she said, still angry after the ordeal. "It's fine, I'll see you later," I said, watching the wind ruffle her hair. She went back inside and I went to my car and tossed Alice, who was sitting on the hood, the keys. She sped away as I used the same tree as last night for leverage and hoisted myself onto the roof and back into Amanda's room. I felt like such a rebel.

Her bedroom was bathed in light and I instinctively stood in the corner that was in shadow. I heard her aunt continue on a verbal rampage, lecturing about why I shouldn't have been here and laying down new 'rules' or something. Her dictator like attempts of control were quite amusing, yet if I were down there I probably would have had to rip her head off for Amanda's sake.

I could feel Amanda's anger seething but she didn't say anything. Eventually, when her aunt paused to breathe, Amanda asked, "Are you _finished_?" I chuckled in spite of myself; I practically felt her glare. Someone began storming up the stairs, I could tell it was Amanda by the light footsteps and what sounded suspiciously like Italian profanity. She flung her door open and looked surprised to see me there, standing arms crossed in the dark corner with a smirk.

"I can't believe she didn't scare you off," she said, sitting on the bed. "I don't frighten easily," I said, "Remember, I do live with Emmett." I actually got her to laugh and admit I had a point. "You can come over here, you know, I don't want to murder _you_," she said, giving me a confused glance. "The sun doesn't really agree with me," I explained. "Will you melt or burst into flames? I thought you told me all the vampire rumors weren't true," she expounded. "They're not, but I…uh…sparkle in the sun," I scowled. "I wouldn't have pegged you for the sparkly type," she smiled. "I'm not, but I can't help it. It's really quite obnoxious," I continued brooding.

She stood up and closed the blinds over the window. "Will you come out now?" she asked, sitting back on the bed. I went over and sat by her in unspoken agreement. "Why didn't you ask me to show you," I asked, suddenly curious. "Clearly it bothers you, and I didn't want to force it out of you or anything. Then you'd just be ill and I'd feel guilty."

Her aunt called for Amanda at the base of the stairs and she stormed out the door to the voice, muttering the foreign curses again. I could hear their muffled voices but didn't pay attention to the conversation, with that woman it probably wasn't anything important. Amanda reentered a minute later, looking entertained in spite of her radiating annoyance.

"Apparently, she's going off to take care of…funeral business, and I'm not supposed to leave the house and no one's supposed to come over," she explained with an ironic smile. "Well that difficults things," I said sarcastically. "As if there's any mischief I can get into in this town anyway," she said in dissatisfaction. Barbara's car thundered out of the driveway and I felt the atmosphere of the house instantly lift.

"You don't know me as well as I thought," I said. "And just what are you implying?" "You could come home with me, we'd have some real shenanigans," I continued. She burst into laughter, "Sometimes you talk like such an old man." "Well, I am," I reminded her, laughing because she was. Laughter was remarkably contagious, especially to me. "So do you want to?" I asked, egging for an answer.

"That would be nice," she nodded, "it would get my mind off…things. But I have to get back before she does or there'll be hell to pay." "Not a problem, Alice is probably already on it," I said, trying to ease her worry. "Okay then," she agreed, after a moment's consideration, "How are we getting there? I heard the Mustang leave." "Again, not a problem," I said, heading toward the window.

I opened it and hopped out onto the roof. I offered her my hand and helped pull her up with me. I took her arms and hoisted her onto my back. After making sure she had a secure grip, not that it made a difference, I wouldn't have let her fall but it made her feel better, I headed to the edge of the roof to leap down. "Ugh, I don't like heights," she moaned into my back. "You hang out on a roof and are afraid of heights," I laughed, earning a slight punch on the arm. I walked off the edge of the roof and landed smoothly. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked. "I guess not," she reluctantly agreed. "If you get dizzy easily you should close your eyes," I warned. "I'm fine," she insisted and I took off running.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: The next few chapters might come up a bit slowly, bear with me, because I have finals next week…six of them. This is what I get for taking 18 hours this semester…ugh, I'm not excited. Thus is the plight of the college student. God, I ramble a lot, I wonder if it's a disease. I should look into that. Anywho, thanks for the favorites, reviews, etc!

"You're eyes are darker, you should've gone hunting with the rest of them," Amanda pointed out while flipping through channels on the television in the living room. "I'm fine, someone has to be here to make sure Alice doesn't make Bella do anything too farfetched or torturous," I said, more entertained by watching her than whatever was on the TV, even if I could only see the side of her face from my angle beside her on the couch. Alice was responsible for keeping Bella occupied and not letting her run away to La Push where Edward was afraid the wolves would hurt her, accidentally or not. Not that it mattered; Bella didn't seem to have a problem finding scrapes to get into no matter where she went.

"It's so noble of you to try and keep Bella from being Alice's human Barbie," she laughed, turning the TV off. "Edward bribed me with a motorcycle," I explained. The thought of the glorious motorcycle in the garage made me roll my sweater sleeves up in anticipation. She laughed at me and rolled her eyes. Esme glided through the door and seemed surprised to see Amanda. I smelled some kind of food, I didn't care enough to try and identify it. Deep down I'm remarkably lazy.

"Amanda!" she greeted, "It's lovely to see you! I have Italian food, help yourself." "Thank you," Amanda said, but added in an afterthought, "Where'd you get that around here?" "Port Angeles," Esme answered, setting the bags down on the counter. "Jasper can show you where the plates are if you're hungry now, or later," she said, meandering off, probably to work on one of her remodeling projects. Right, I should have thought of that, I'm always a bad host. One of the curses of being a loner.

"Okay, thanks," Amanda said, giving me an odd look after Esme left. "What?" I asked, unsure of what I did to deserve it. "I dunno. You were looking at me like I'm crazy, so I reciprocated." "You _are_ crazy," I reminded her. "True, but it's old news," she retorted, "as if you're the pinnacle of normality anyway." I shrugged, admitting she had a point.

She picked up a stray piece of paper lying on the coffee table, found a pencil and began to doodle. She turned the sheet over and burst into laughter. "Emmett sucks at tic tac toe," she laughed, recognizing my brother's sloppy scrawl. I laughed with her and pointed out that he had been playing with Alice. She continued to doodle. I couldn't pick out anything particular, just intricate webs of connecting lines.

She absentmindedly leaned back against me and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her waist. I wasn't sure what prompted me to do that, I didn't seem to know why I did a lot of things around her, and it was bothering me less and less. She wasn't bothered by my touch, which still took me off guard a bit.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked suddenly, breaking out of her daze and lightly tracing her finger over one of the many crescent shaped marks on my forearm. "You can see that?" I asked, astounded. The only scar really visible to humans was the one above my eyebrow, no one had ever noticed the plethora of others before. But I usually did wear long sleeves, just in case. I wasn't sure how to make up an adequate story to account for so many scars…maybe having a glass door dropped on me.

"Barely, it's faint, but the light caught it just right and it sparkled. Sparkly things catch my attention," she elaborated to my amusement. "I thought I told you about my…involvement with so many young vampires," I said in a more serious tone. "_They_ did all this?" she asked, gesturing to my arm, to which I nodded. "Our venom is the only thing that leaves a scar, newborns lack fighting skill and go for the obvious attack, biting anywhere they can. It's not really a big deal to most vampires, a fledgling vampire is highly unlikely to attack an older one who can control himself and rationally fight back. Unless you're responsible for training them to _become_ those seasoned fighters," I explained, not afraid of frightening her this time.

"Did it hurt?" she asked after a bit of silence, I supposed she was thinking about my explanation. "It burned like hell," I admitted. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "Don't be, it doesn't matter anymore," I said, moving her hair out of her eyes. "Having so many scars is rather useful," I began, trying to lighten the mood, "Other vampires are extremely intimidated and for the most part leave me alone. It's really the only upside I can think of to having these imperfections. It worked to my advantage in the long run."

"They're not imperfections," she argued, "without them you wouldn't be you and in the long run my life would be excessively less meaningful and lonely." Alice and Bella barged in before I could say anything, not that it mattered because I never could have had a worthy reply to that. I might have been able to come up with something if I dwelled on it for the next few years.

"Amanda!" Alice chirped, not at all surprised by her presence. Bella greeted her also, and made her way upstairs to put the bags she was carrying in Alice's room. I hoped I still got the motorcycle in spite of the fact that Alice had dragged her out to shop. Once Bella was out of earshot, Alice asked, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" "I'm fine," she answered. I don't think Alice was convinced, but knew Amanda well enough not to press the matter. "Your aunt's in Port Angeles and doesn't intend on returning tonight, you did a good job of scaring her off, you hellion," Alice laughed, earning a grin from Amanda. "Your grandmother is returning at roughly 9 tonight, you should call her and tell her you're staying over here for the weekend," Alice continued.

"I am?" she asked, confused by Alice's foresight. "Yes, you are, and you'll thank me for it. Lillian won't mind, she'll be glad for you to have a distraction. Besides, if you leave no one will hold Bella down while I give her a pedicure, Jasper wants his motorcycle too badly and Esme is too wholesome to support forced beautifying," Alice continued, talking a mile a minute. "Okay then, apparently my mind's made up, even though I didn't know it," Amanda agreed, slightly eyeing Alice with suspicion. "That's the spirit!" Alice said with enthusiasm as she dashed upstairs, probably plotting on how to bend Bella to cooperate with her.

"You should eat," I said, suddenly remembering she hadn't eaten anything since much earlier that morning. "I'm fine," she said, going back to her doodle. "But it's Italian! _Ethnic_ food in _Forks_!" I said trying to persuade her. "Tempting, but no," she said, smirking at my attempt. "Please?" I asked, "It would make me feel better." When all else fails, I'm not above resorting to using guilt. "Ugh, fine then, but only because it's a cultural experience," she agreed.

"It's for your own good anyway," I went on as I searched for the cupboard the dishes were in, "if your blood sugar dropped too low and you passed out, I might not be able to hold Alice back from…I don't know…painting your nails or something, or rigorously applying eyeshadow." "How horrifying," she said as she made her way to the kitchen and sat on one of the barstools by the island. I finally found the dishes, I could count on one hand the number of times they'd been used. Another one of our props. I found silverware with much less difficulty and put the dining utensils in front of her so she could help herself.

I sat on the barstool opposite the island from her. "I can't eat if you stare at me," she pointed out, twirling a noodle around with her fork. "That looks good," I said, averting my gaze to the open box of takeout food containing some sort of pasta. It smelled good, which surprised me, food had lost its appeal to me quite a long time ago. I gingerly picked up a single noodle and slurped it up. "Although not as good as it looks," I concluded after I chewed and swallowed.

"You can eat?" Amanda asked, clearly shocked by my display. "I _can_ but I don't, it doesn't have any advantage for me. A lot of food also looks and smells much more grotesque if you have heightened senses." I distracted myself from watching her by studying a blueprint Esme had left on the counter. "You can leave, you know," she said, "I don't want you to feel like you have to be with me constantly, I'm probably starting to annoy you." "It would be impossible for you to annoy me," I said, "Besides, I can better keep you…tranquil by being close. It's a lot stronger that way."

"I can handle it if you want to go off and do something that could be actually interesting," she argued. "You're more interesting than you can possibly know," I said truthfully and vaguely at once. She dropped the subject and continued eating. While she did so, I put the food up in the refrigerator so Bella wouldn't get food poisoning when she ate it later. Our refrigerator was fully stocked, I wondered idly how much food we had wasted over the years by holding up our little charade of normalcy.

Amanda scraped what she didn't eat off her plate into the trash and brought the dish to the sink where she began to rinse it off. "Don't bother with that," I said, "just throw it away." "What?" she asked like I had just started speaking in tongues. "No one will ever use it again, save you or Bella, throwing it away is easier than bothering to clean something that has no purpose," I clarified. She shrugged and dropped the soiled plate and fork into the trash.

"That was surprisingly liberating," she said, "I might take up destroying perfectly good dinnerware as a hobby." "There's a dozen boxes of it in the attic, help yourself," I muttered a bit more grimly than I meant to. "You okay? My questions earlier didn't bother you, did they?" she asked, eyeing me with concern. "No, no," I began, "it's not you, Bella's worried about something and it's making me nervous." Bella's anxiety practically reverberated off the walls, threatening to drive me insane.

"It's really annoying, isn't it? Being able to pick up on everything like that," she asked. "Incredibly," I agreed, "But it does have advantages." "To brood so much you're surprisingly optimistic," Amanda laughed. I laughed at her observation, "I do enjoy a good brood now and then." "It's rubbed off on me," she continued, "one day in class last week I found myself crossing my arms, cocking my head to the side and staring like you do when you go into brooding mode." "I'm sure you looked remarkably intelligent, and not to mention suave," I pointed out.

"Oh, Amandaaaaa!" Alice declared from the bottom of the stairs, appearing quite literally out of nowhere. She motioned enthusiastically for Amanda to follow her upstairs, probably wanting to torture her alongside of Bella. "But!" she whined, cowering behind me. "Please!! Bella doesn't like this one dress and I want to see how it looks on you! I thought you liked me!" Alice continued, acting hurt to get her way. "Alice!!" Amanda whined again. "Alice," I said in a warning tone. "Alice?" Bella called from upstairs. "Fine, I know when I'm not wanted," she sulked, "But would you at least come _look_ at it?" "If you promise I don't have to play dress up," Amanda said, still skeptical. "Yay, I promise!" she triumphed, pushing me out of the way and pulling Amanda up the stairs.

I followed them for no real reason. Partly to make sure Alice kept her word and partly because whatever transpired was bound to be extremely entertaining. "No boys allowed!" Alice declared, slamming the door in my face. "Out of all of you, you're the only vampire who actually worries me," I heard Amanda tell Alice. I chuckled slightly and went into my own room to entertain myself. I opened the window to let the night breeze in; I had always liked how night smelled. I stared out into the darkness and halfway listened to the protesting going on in the next room.

I was impressed, Amanda could hold her own. Bella usually conceded to Alice's whims out of guilt, but not Amanda. I was so proud. Both Alice and Amanda suddenly burst into laughter, most likely at something Bella did, I could only imagine what. I heard Alice shoo Amanda away, telling her to make sure and tell me she kept her promise and reminded her to call her grandmother.

I glanced back at the doorway just in time to watch Amanda enter, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Was it really that bad?" I asked, amused at her expression. "Not too bad, she didn't make me play dress up, I'm sure you already heard that. She just has so much energy, if only it could be channeled for good," she said, sitting down on the bed, "By the way, she said you got you a shirt or something. I wasn't really listening."

I nodded and shut the window, realizing that half the people in the room were capable of getting cold. "That was nice of her, I wouldn't know what to do if I had to dress myself," I teased. "She got a pink button down number for Emmett," Amanda smirked, "Even_ I_ don't see that happening, I don't know what she's thinking." "Forty eight seconds!" Alice reminded Amanda from the next room. I handed her my cell phone and busied myself by putting books back on the shelf that had been strewn around the room for a few months. One day I should make an endeavor to be neater.

I tried not to listen in on her conversation, it would have irked me to no end to have someone hovering over my every move, but I couldn't help but pick up a bit of it. Apparently, "Jasper's sister invited me to stay over, and his mom's here and doesn't mind." I didn't remember it exactly panning out like that, but whatever she needed to say, I supposed.

"Well that went smoothly," she said, snapping the phone shut, "And I loved how you were trying not to listen." "I didn't want to be rude, after all, it's been _at least_ thirty minutes since I opened a door for you or anything of the like," I said, mocking her dislike of my good manners. "How _ever_ have you survived?" she sneered, tossing a book at me that I had left on the bed. I caught it with ease and put it in its proper place. Or at least in the general area of its proper place, organization isn't my forte.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for the next few days," she said, "Try to contain your distress." "I make no promises," I said, flopping loudly and ungracefully down on the bed next to her. We were silent a moment as I listened to her breathing and her thoughts were away in places I'd like to see.

"It's quiet around here without Emmett," she remarked. "Especially when _both_ Emmett and Rosalie are gone," I smirked. "EW!" she exclaimed, burying her face in her hands, "that's a mental image I _never_ needed!!!!!!" "Me neither, I couldn't stand to be around them for the better part of a decade," I agreed, "I think that was after one of the several times they got married, but I could be wrong. I tried to block it from my memory."

She made an exasperated noise and dropped her head onto her knees. "No more, please no more!!" she begged. "Only if you do something for me," I said, prepared to bargain. "Anything!" she said overdramatically, looking up to apprehensively meet my gaze. "Don't freak out," I said quietly right before I leaned in and kissed her.

Oooh, another cliffhanger! I'm so evil! :D


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm sorry!" I said, breaking the kiss, "That was rude, tactless and pretentious of me to push myself on you like that." I could feel verbal diarrhea coming on.

"Jasper-"she tried to cut in.

"I should have known better, it was too dangerous, I could have hurt you," I blabbered on, mentally going through every possible scenario that could've ended my charade badly.

"_Jasper_!" she exclaimed, effectively silencing me.

I turned to look at her, "You're not upset or ill with me?"

"Wouldn't you know if I was?" she asked.

She had a point, and she was right. And once I shut up and used my senses I could tell she wasn't anything of the sort. She was surprised…very surprised, but not repulsed. "Sorry," I said, calming down, "I tend to…ramble when I'm tense." "I've noticed," she laughed, "Why're you nervous, was I supposed to hit you or something?"

"It would have been deserved," I muttered, beginning to feel guilty. Whether she was offended or not wasn't the only thing bothering me. I could have _killed_ her, all out of one stupid act. I had the ability to snap so easily, I didn't think she really understood.

"You're way too hard on yourself," she said, lightly rubbing my arm in an attempted soothing manner. There was a slight pause before she continued with, "So…are we gonna talk about this or pretend it never happened?"

"I don't know," I said, a bit unnerved by her calm demeanor. And I wasn't even responsible for it. I didn't know if there was anything that could be said…I'm a stupid vampire who had fallen for a living, breathing human being. And, while it should have terrified her, it did nothing of the sort. Women, psh. As if the inner workings of their minds weren't mysterious enough as is.

"Stop freaking out, you're making me nervous," she said softly after another minute's pause. I tested the atmosphere of the room and there still wasn't any panic emitting from her. But there was something else…not quite love, but a different feeling. Adoration maybe, or fondness. It was hard to decipher between the two, albeit they are similar.

"Sorry," I mumbled, trying to mentally steady myself. I added in an afterthought, "We can talk about…it if you want, but I don't know what there is to say. What do you want me to tell you? That I'm a preposterously foolish bloodsucker?"

"You know I don't think that," she protested, "I think I just want to know…why, I guess. I mean, nearly this whole time I've known you I thought I was the only one who…uh, yeah. Never mind."

I quirked an eyebrow, "This whole time…what?" The ending of that sentence could be interesting, although it could also be the death of me. More literally than perhaps I'd like to admit. It could be the death of both of us, if I hurt her I couldn't live with myself… I _wouldn't_. But not knowing was equally as bad, so I intended to take it like a man.

"Just forget it."

"You've got me curious now," I said in a bemused fashion.

"You started this whole thing, I'm just as curious," she said, returning my amused yet confused expression.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," I smirked.

"Too bad I'm not a feline," she persisted, determined not to let me stall. "And why are you avoiding the subject? It's not like I'm asking you to change me into a vampire, all I want to know is why you…kissed me."

"I'm afraid you'll be frightened and run away from me," I further delayed.

"If I were going to do that, wouldn't I have run when you told me what you are?"

Damn. I hated when she had a point, especially when she was right. I don't know why it was so hard for me to admit my feelings. Perhaps because I've kept them under lock and key my whole existence and couldn't keep them caged any longer. And I wasn't sure how to react to it. I've always approached things from a military perspective, it allowed me to remain detached and distant and even hide from myself. But I couldn't run anymore. Nearly two centuries is a long time to run.

"I've found myself developing…feelings for you," I began timidly. "I've been alone for so long that I assumed that's how it would always be, and then you came along. In a way, it feels like you've always been with me because you've filled a part of me that I realize was empty. I didn't know what I was missing until I found you, and now I can't imagine myself any other way."

It didn't take a vampire with a knack for deciphering emotions so sense her amazement. "But…_me_?" she began apprehensively. "You could have any girl, and you want me?"

"You could never understand the depth of my feelings for you," I said truthfully. "You're anything and everything I could ever possibly need." I was starting to get nervous again, if she didn't reciprocate then I had pretty much just screwed up one of the best relationships I'd ever had. Whether it turned romantic or not was a trifle matter to me, if I lost her friendship I'd be devastated. I could deal with rejection but not abandonment.

"I think I could," she smiled shyly, "because I feel the same way. I mean, I'm sure that doesn't mean much coming from me, you're the one with all the life experience or whatever. But, it just feels like…you're a piece of me that I didn't know I didn't have." She nervously chucked. "That sounded so lame, like some stupid daytime soap opera."

"Not at all," I assured, meeting her eyes for the first time since the beginning of the conversation.

"So…what does this mean? Are we, like, _together_?"

"If you'd like to be," I offered, unsure if I should be the one to answer that question. At least by letting her answer if something went awry later I could have the piece of mind knowing I didn't pressgang her into anything. Maybe that would alleviate some of the guilt I'd feel if this were to end badly. But I also knew if it did end badly nothing would be able to console me.

"I think I'd like that," she smiled, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks. "If you'll still have me, human drama and all."

"I'll always want you," I said softly, gliding a finger down her cheek.

"Can I ask you how long you've been holding this out on me?" she asked, leaning her head on my shoulder. All the uncertainty and anxiety from earlier had dissipated. As far as I was concerned, at this moment all was right with the world.

"I don't know exactly, I can't really pinpoint it," I answered, resolving to be completely honest, no matter how awkward it might be. "It's been gradually building up over time. And then last night…." I trailed off. Awkward was one thing but I didn't want to make her relive painful memories. But I didn't want to censor myself to her either; if she wanted to be with me then she had a right to know the truth.

"Last night I realized how protective I feel of you. I saw you hurting so badly, and I wanted to take it all away; I wanted to bear it myself…anything to shield you. And then I realized, in my entire 'life' I've never wanted that for anyone before. I mean, I never _wanted_ people to suffer, but better them than me. I had never felt the urge to rather be the one suffering in place of you. Then I realized, maybe in more of a jealous frenzy, that I never wanted anyone else to have the opportunity to _try_."

I could tell she was astonished. I could tell she was searching for words, but then she leaned up and kissed my neck lightly, and I took it as an indication that we didn't have to have words at that moment. Sometimes just presence was the ultimate response.

"Well it took you two long enough!" Alice exclaimed, barging into the room. She was grinning like a madwoman, clearly elated. Amanda smiled shyly and looked down at the floor. "I know you both hate to be ogled at, so I'll leave you now," she continued. "But just know I'm _so_ excited for you two! If you only knew what I do…" she shook her head and left us hanging mid-sentence. I hated when she did that. "Just a friendly reminder, it's after 2am and _someone_ requires sleep," she added on as she glided out of the room back down the hall.

"Oh…right," I mumbled, completely forgetting one of the requirements of being human. I wasn't good enough for this, I couldn't even remember she had to sleep. She deserved better than me, if I couldn't remember something as simple as sleeping, then what if I forgot how fragile she was? All it takes is one second of carelessness…

The next morning wasn't nearly as awkward as I had anticipated. Everything seemed to fall into place. Amanda was the only person who I could ever spend hours talking about nothing with. Later in the afternoon I took her home, as a favor she didn't know about. At least one of us could be spared from the bombardment that would follow as soon as the others were home.

I opted to drive her to her house just incase someone was there. Amanda pouted because she thought the super-speed running deal was the greatest thing ever, but eventually conceded and agreed we had to drive. She still scowled when I opened her door, I got the feeling some things would never change.

"I'll never get used to your driving," she muttered. "It makes me jealous that I'd die trying it."

I laughed at her as I pulled into her drive, immediately dashing out and opening her door. She rolled her eyes for far back in her head that I seriously thought there was a chance they'd get stuck.

"Thank you," she said quietly as I walked her to the porch. "For successfully distracting me," she answered in response to my questioning look. I felt I should be the one thanking her for being willing to put up with me, but it didn't seem like the time. In lieu of a response, I kissed her hand as we stopped in front of the door.

"That's all I get?" she laughed. She then jumped up, quite literally as I'm a good bit taller, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. I was surprised, but pleasantly so.

"You need to get going," I reminded her as we broke apart. "Your grandmother needs you."

"I don't want to leave," she protested. "I don't want to leave _you_."

I scratched my head in bewilderment. Why she adored me so was something I'd never comprehend. "You can have me as long as you want," I reminded her softly. She nodded and I hugged her one last time before she went inside.

The drive back was dull, it was much less fulfilling to talk to myself than to her. I swung the Mustang into the garage and clamored inside, not really concerned with being quiet. Esme greeted me after I came in the house with a hug. I knew she was utterly thrilled for me, but knew not to verbally bring it up. She didn't have a problem with my self imposed distance. She tousled my hair and asked me for my opinion on something about her current house project.

She led me to her papers outlining her plans which were in the living room where Alice and Bella were already lazing on the couch and staring at the TV. Alice grinned insanely at me but didn't say anything. She must have known the others were coming back soon and was saving the barrage for then. Bella politely smiled at me, I knew that deep down she was still a touch unnerved by my presence and wasn't sure what to make of me. Not that I could blame her.

I answered Esme's questioning dilemmas, not that I offered outstanding interior decorating advice. I was a guy…that justified me not having any taste. Esme was being polite, but I could tell she was less than thrilled by my opinions. I could hear the Jeep rumbling in the distance and I died a little inside. At least I had a few more minutes…unless Emmett or Edward was driving in which case I had seconds.

My assumption was correct since a few seconds later the rest of my family trooped in from the garage. Rosalie went straight upstairs, probably to clean herself up, she hated looking even the slightest bit disheveled. Bella immediately swamped Edward and they meandered off from the group. Carlisle greeted us all and sat down with Esme.

Emmett flopped down in a chair and asked, " So what shenanigans did you kiddos get into while I was gone?"

"Nothing much," Alice chirped. I could see what she was doing and I mentally let out a string of cursing that Edward would be ashamed of. "I forced Bella to go shopping, Jasper and Amanda became an item, it rained some…the usual."

"Yay!" Emmett bellowed joyously. "I'm gonna have a new little sister!!!"

At that moment I thoroughly wished I could have melted into the wall.


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry this took so long, guys, but I was gone all Christmas break, which for me was nearly a month, and then the internet went out for nearly a week...it's been a fiasco-filled month. But anywho, the next chapter!

A few days later I found myself in Amanda's living room waiting for her to finish getting ready. Today was her grandfather's funeral and I insisted on going with her. She insisted back that she was fine and I didn't have to go, but I won the argument eventually…after she got tired of talking. I knew she wanted me there more than she wanted me to know. But that argument took place after I finally convinced her she should go herself. She didn't believe me, but having the closure was really the best thing. And I should know. As a vampire, closure was a rarity.

Amanda skulked down the stairs, clearly unhappy about something. Probably a mixture of having to wear a dress and me winning the previous argument. "You clean up well," she said, gesturing to my dark suit and trying to take the attention off herself.

"Alice," I explained.

"Tell me about it," she agreed. "At least she'll be happy I wore one of the dresses she forcibly gave me at least once." I should have known Amanda's dress was Alice's doing. Although it suited her perfectly, there was no way she ever would have picked it out. It was a very simple and understated deep violet dress that looked almost gown like, but much less attention grabbing. The purple made her eyes pop in an ethereal way.

"Shut up," she said, scowling and shrugging on a jacket, not liking my gaze. Alice would have had an aneurysm if she knew Amanda had worn a beat up leather jacket with that dress. I grinned in spite of myself.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

She nodded and swung the front door open none too gently. "Ha!" she exclaimed randomly. "I _so_ beat you to the door!! And opened it myself!!"

"I'm dying inside," I said, laughing at her demonstration of independence. But I still opened the car door for her; she didn't have a chance beating me to it. She murmured thanks and once we were driving away she began rambling off all the reasons she didn't want to go to the funeral, and why I shouldn't feel I had to come.

"There's just gonna be a lot of people there I don't want to see….a ton of people there I don't want you to meet, at least a few people who I completely loathe and don't think they deserve to live…and besides, the idea of a funeral is so antiquated. I don't need "closure" this way, sitting there for an hour isn't gonna help me with anything, except be annoyed and maybe depressed."

I halfway listened to her futile attempts of persuading me. I got the feeling she was mainly rambling anyway. "Are you quite finished?" I asked as I swung the car into a parking spot at the funeral parlor…funeral home…whatever they called it these days.

"I guess," she sulked, glowering at me as I smirked in victory. "But we're leaving _as_ _soon_ as it's over." I nodded and, once again, darted around and opened the door for her. She snarled as I offered her my hand, but took it anyway. Her hand always felt so warm in mine, like I was holding a fire in my palm, only without the burning sensation.

I didn't release her hand as she led me into the building and through the throngs of people, fervently ignoring everyone. She saw her grandmother's purse on one of the benches and plopped down beside it. I rested my arm on the back of the bench and placed my hand on her shoulder, in both a supportive and practical way. I concentrated on sending waves of calm through her…this was why I had insisted on coming too.

She wasn't nearly as mad at me as she was letting on; I figured she was trying to distract herself. We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments as she glared at the floor.

"It's funny how you intimidate people," Amanda mused, suddenly looking up at me.

"I do?" I asked, unaware of my newfound ability. I had gotten used to people avoiding me.

"Apparently…no one's tried to badger me yet. I should keep you on hand like this more often."

"I'd be okay with that," I countered as her grandmother, Lillian, came up and sat beside Amanda.

Amanda elbowed me in the ribs, cursed quietly when she realized that was a bad idea, and returned Lillian's greeting.

"It's lovely to see you again, Jasper," she said as she sat down beside her granddaughter.

She also thanked me for getting Amanda to come, which earned another snarl from her. I conversed lightly for a moment with the older woman. I didn't remember what I said, but Amanda later assured me it was "distressingly polite and impeccably well mannered."

Amanda's aunt, Barbara, strolled up and seated herself on the other side of Lillian. She glared in my direction and uttered a snide comment to Lillian that she didn't think I would hear. I could feel Amanda's annoyance as she slid closer to me, subconsciously trying to put more distance between her and Barbara.

As the minister began to talk, Amanda resumed glowering at the floor and my mind wandered. I found myself dwelling on the Seattle situation, wishing Alice would see something insightful. I hoped that it would dissipate on its own, but reasoned we would most likely have to act to end it. I had the underlying suspicion that Bella played a part in this, but didn't voice it. I was careful not to think of it around Edward since I had no logic behind my assumption and could do without a lecture from him.

"Ready to go?" I asked, noticing that people were standing up to leave.

"God, yes," Amanda groaned and hopped up eagerly.

I led the way out of the building with Amanda following behind. I got the feeling she was using me as a human shield to avoid speaking to anyone as we weaved around people. I chuckled at her successful endeavor as we exited the funeral home.

"And what's so funny?" she playfully demanded, matching my pace and no longer cowering behind me.

"You," I said simply.

She shrugged. "I could understand that."

I opened the car door for her. "You're really not gonna make me stay?" she asked, seeming shocked.

"You kept your end of the deal, now I'm keeping mine." I closed her car door and meandered at a painfully slow human pace to my own. "You didn't believe me?" I asked.

She shrugged mysteriously.

"You're confidence in me is _so_ reassuring," I laughed.

"I believed you, but figured you guilt trip me into hanging around," she explained, feeling guilty as she said it. "You _do_ have that ability, ya know."

I laughed at her. I liked how she could be so lighthearted about a rather serious subject matter. "What are we doing now?" I asked, waving a hand at the sprawling road before us.

"You're taking me home so I can get out of this awful dress, then I'm indifferent about our later activities." She paused with a bewildered expression. "I'm starting to talk like you. How bizarre that I'm beginning to pick up 19th century dialogue."

I laughed at her and accelerated the Mustang to a speed nearly three times the limit. Without slowing down I swung the car into her driveway. She didn't even seem phased.

"Nice try," she stuck her tongue out at me as she hopped out of the car. Unlike 99.9% of people, my driving had yet to alarm her and my latest undertaking was to do so. She didn't shake easily at all, which I found remarkable…as well as a challenge.

I flopped down on the beige couch downstairs, which Amanda had described once as "hopelessly dull", while she dashed upstairs to change. She reappeared a few minutes later wearing dark wash jeans, a dark red top and black boots. Not quite up to Alice's standards but I thought it looked nice.

She sat on the end of the couch opposite me, leaned against the arm and rested her legs on my lap.

"I would offer to get you something, but that seems a touch pointless," she smiled.

"Not unless you happen to have some wolf blood lying around." (A/N: I don't think the books ever say what Jasper likes to hunt and I cant think of any other large, predatory animals at the moment (or I probably could, but I'm too lazy) so a wolf it is. No pun about the werewolves intended…although that actually is pretty funny.)

"No wolves, but there's a small, yappy dog next door that I wouldn't mind see go," she suggested.

"I love it when you suggest illegal activities," I grinned.

"It's only illegal if you get caught," she insisted. "Which you wouldn't. That stupid furball would never see it coming."

"A little bitter, are we?"

"Not bitter, stupid things tend to frustrate me." She paused and smiled with an amusing thought. "High school's very painful."

I rolled my eyes and suggested we go to my place for awhile. She was getting antsy being at her home, for understandable reasons. I would have offered to take her obnoxious aunt out, but somehow I thought Amanda would seriously want me to and that would cause a lot of problems for me and the rest of my family.

She agreed and grabbed her precious leather jacket and followed me out onto the porch. She paused to grab the mail from the mailbox, glanced through it quickly, and tossed it back onto a small table in the house's entryway.

"Looking for something?" I asked.

"Kind of."

"Can I ask what?" I tried to siphon information out.

"An acceptance letter from Cornell," she answered.

"Cornell, huh?" I said thoughtfully. There's no reason she wouldn't be accepted there. There's no reason _I_ wouldn't be accepted there, and I hadn't attended there before. The wheels in my head began to turn.

Promptly two minutes later we arrived at my house. Amanda was still unshaken by my driving, yet she seemed to be turning a slight tint of green. I laughed at her and she shot an inappropriate hand gesture in my general direction, which made the both of us laugh harder.

"I've been wanting to do that for years!" Emmett bellowed from across the yard. "The hand signal that is…not the actual...uh, yeah."

Amanda snorted at Emmett's wording and walked up to where he was standing by his Jeep. I followed her out of amusement; she and Emmett always had entertaining banter.

Amanda greeted Rosalie, who was sliding out from under the Jeep, splotchy with patches of grease. Rose returned her greeting and immediately dashed inside to clean up. She couldn't stand to look less than pristine.

"Your Jeep's looking kind of rough," Amanda pointed out, gesturing toward several dents that adorned the vehicle's surface. "They make bigger and better vehicles now, you know…like Hummers and stuff."

"You did _not_ just diss my Jeep!" Emmett declared.

She grinned. "I might've."

"Oh, you'll pay!" he glared and took a daunting step toward her. He looked quite stern, but I could tell he wasn't going to do anything serious. But he still looked intimidating.

"Will I, now?" she glared right back and took a step towards him, too. I wondered what she must have been thinking; no human with any sense reacted that way around Emmett.

Before anymore threats could have been exchanged, Emmett scooped her up and dashed inside the house. Amanda was quite taken back by this, but wasn't worried or afraid…I was making sure of that. I followed them into the house at a more leisurely and less manic pace.

Emmett had set Amanda down in front of the computer, pulled up a chair beside her, and was demanding she help him pick out a Hummer. I rolled my eyes; leave it to him to nearly give the girl a heart attack to do nothing more than obtain help with his internet shopping. I lay down on the couch and picked up a book I had left lying on the coffee table earlier.

I found myself listening to them argue rather than concentrating on my book and instead wandered over to where they sat. They were more entertaining, anyway. Amanda, who admitted to knowing nothing about mechanical workings, was insisting one Hummer was better than the one Emmett liked.

"They're the same thing!!" Emmett argued.

"No they're not…this one's a prettier color!!" she argued back.

Emmett roared in laughter.

"It's true!" she said, looking victorious.

"You're right," he concurred. He scrolled up the screen to find the dealership's number. I held out my cell phone, anticipating his need for it.

"Get out of here, kid, they won't take me seriously if the dealer hears you say that," he laughed, dialing the number.

Amanda rolled her eyes, but was still grinning. She bopped Emmett on the back of the head as she walked away, and then made a mad dash to hide behind me. She peeked out around my arm, trying to decide if he would retaliate. He was on the phone, trying to be professional. Or as professional as Emmett was capable of.

"I think you're safe now," I offered.

"You never can tell," she grinned, still eyeing my brother suspiciously.

I chuckled at her, picked her up and went out onto the porch. I set her down gently on the stairs.

"You're so weird," I said as I sat down by her.

"You're the immortal, vegetarian vampire and _I'm_ the weird one?" she laughed.

"I'm afraid so. Anyone else would have run screaming from Emmett when he looks so threatening."

"Meh," she said nonchalantly. "I figured if you weren't worried then I shouldn't be. Unless it's in your grand scheme for Emmett to slaughter me over vehicular insults."

"I can't say that I was planning on that," I agreed, somewhat touched that she trusted me and my strange little ability enough to associate so easily with my potentially lethal family.

We were silent a moment. I put my arm around her shoulders and lightly twisted my finger through a lock of her hair.

"This is so strange, it's like we've been together forever," she said randomly. "But I guess you'd know more about forever than I would. It's just weird we have such a comfortable…relationship. It's not awkward or strained or anything. But that could be your doing."

"I haven't done anything," I pointed out with a smile. I took her hand and kissed it lightly.

Emmett burst through the door, effectively ruining our moment. He barreled down the stairs to his Jeep, calling back to us that in a few short hours he would be the proud owner of a Hummer.

Rosalie trudged out the door behind him, clearly unhappy to be accompanying him. "See what you've done now," she said to Amanda. "It's just what he needs…the largest vehicle known to man."

Emmett called to her to hurry up, which she grudgingly did. The couple tore out of the driveway a few seconds later.

"She'll get over it," Amanda said. "She's so overdramatic."

I chuckled at her correct assessment of my sister. Alice bounded out the door a second later. I groaned. Clearly if we wanted any privacy, Amanda and I would have to move to Guam.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Amanda," Alice accused. She turned to me. "And you too, Jasper, for letting her do it."

Amanda and I stared at Alice as if she had completely lost her mind.

"Give me the jacket," she demanded, holding her hand out.

"Uh, no," Amanda responded. I had become quite confused by this odd display.

"You can give it to me," Alice began, taking a step forward, " or I can take it by force."

Amanda just stared at her.

"Never again can you be allowed to pair that abused clothing item with any wondrous garment I picked out!!" she exclaimed, looking anguished.

"Ugh, fine," Amanda groaned. "But only because I'm not in the mood to argue." She shrugged out of the jacket and gave it to Alice.

"I knew you would say that," Alice grinned smugly. "But I got you something better!!" She pulled, quite literally out of nowhere, another leather jacket.

"It's like the one you had, only better!" Alice began to ramble excitedly.

"Am I allowed to wear it with clothes you give me by force?" Amanda asked.

"Of course!!" Alice chirped. "I'll leave you alone with it now." She then vanished back inside.

"Leave me alone with it," Amanda rolled her eyes. "Like it's a new baby or something." She looked more closely at the jacket before adding, "It is nice, though." I held it out for her to put on, which she did.

"Thanks, Alice," she called, knowing my other sister had heard her.

So nothing really important happened in this chapter, I kinda forgot where I was leading from the last one, but I hope you all like it anyway!


	16. Chapter 16

Be prepared for lots of fluff, guys! And this is where I had intended for the story to end, but some ideas came to me in a drunken flash (haha…friend's birthday party…don't ask), so I'm now in the process of writing a Part Two/sequel! Be on the lookout for it!

Amanda was waiting on her porch for me when I drove up to take us to school. The gentle, but still chilly, May breeze crept inside the car when she opened the door. She seemed really excited about something, I was anxious to find out what. Before I could ask, she leaned over and gave me a hug, which I happily returned.

I found myself smiling in the wake of her good mood. "I would ask how you are, but that's kind of pointless. So instead, why are you so jubilant?"

"I got accepted to Cornell!" she exclaimed, still smiling like a madwoman.

"You're not the only one," I hinted, attempting to be vague, but she immediately caught on.

"Not only do I get to escape Forks, but you're coming too!" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I bet they have killer bookstores in Connecticut! I'll have to look some up online after school. Ugh, I don't wanna live in a dorm; we should get an apartment together! Or live really, really close to each other, that way you can do all my schoolwork that I suck at…like math."

I grinned listening to her ramble, a tendency she had when she was really happy or excited…or awkward. Amanda might even rival Alice's renowned ramble skills, the only thing keeping Alice the champion was that she didn't have to stop to breathe. She had started talking about how far away graduation was when I tuned back in.

"It's less than a month away, you know," I reminded her.

"I know, but still! A _month_! That's like a lifetime in Forks time!"

I shrugged, months didn't matter to me, nor did days or even years. After awhile, methods of measuring time were obsolete for me. Amanda must have sensed what I was thinking.

"Old man," she laughed, shaking her head.

"Well, this old man _was_ going to suggest we leave after lunch today, but never mind. Old men are supposed to be better examples than _that_," I pointed out and I turned into the parking lot, found a satisfactory space, and slammed the Mustang into park.

"That's okay, I don't mind staying all day because I know how much you _love_ being here," she said.

We were silent a minute.

"We could just leave now," I suggested with a sly smile. "Unless you feel bad depriving me of the joyous experience of school."

"Well, you suggested it, so…" she smiled back.

I crossed my arms and sat back in the seat.

"You're gonna get my hopes up and then make me go to class anyway?" she said, trying to look hurt. I wouldn't say she was feeling hurt, just disappointed and a trifle annoyed.

I just stared at her with, what I hoped, was an unreadable expression.

"Ugh, fine then," she muttered and reached down to grab her messenger bag out of the floor.

I cracked and started to laugh, cranked the car, threw it in reverse and was out of the parking lot in one motion.

"That's what I thought," she smirked, exuding relief. "So where are we going?"

"Not a clue," I confessed. "Any suggestions?"

She was in the middle of a yawn and shook her head 'no'.

"We can just go back home, if you want. No one else should be there and if we think of something better do to later we can," I suggested.

"Sounds good," she concurred. "We're just getting a head start on the weekend."

The Mustang's engine roared in protest as I demanded more acceleration from it. I'd probably have to buy a new one by the end of the summer, with nothing but my aggressive driving to blame.

The car's tires squealed as I turned abruptly into the driveway of my house. I had to carefully maneuver around Emmett's new Hummer, since it took up the better part of the garage. I leaped out and opened the door for Amanda, much to her chagrin.

"I'm afraid you're just going to have to get used to that," I reminded her, earning a swat on the elbow for my trouble.

"I'm sorry, that was rude," she suddenly apologized, taking me by surprise. "I'll try to repress the bulk of my violent urges from now on…or else I'll break a bone."

I laughed at her reasoning, took her hand, and led her into the house. She went to the fully stocked refrigerator and got out a bottle of water. She looked around inside for a moment before laughing that she was glad Esme had started keeping her favorites on hand.

"I can cook something for you, if you like," I offered.

"Nah, I'm fine, thanks." She was leaning over the dining room table looking at Esme's latest project. I crept up behind her, wound my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her shoulder.

She turned her head slightly back to look at me, kissed my cheek and asked, "You okay?"

I nodded and buried my face into her neck, inhaling her relaxing scent. She had a much more subtle scent than Bella, Amanda smelled like lavender and something else I could never decipher.

"I haven't hunted in awhile," I explained.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

I shrugged. "A few of us are leaving tomorrow morning to hunt, I'll be fine. I'm just sorry I have to leave you for a few days."

"It's fine, I understand."

"I still don't like it. And I'm also not sure how I feel about you being so understanding of it," I said, untangling myself from Amanda.

"I figure I can try and empathize and learn to deal with it, or I can be remarkably difficult and it wouldn't change anything. Which do you prefer?" she laughed, turning around to face me.

"You're insane," I laughed with her.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," I smirked. "But, yes, you may."

"You don't have to, if you don't want to, don't feel pressured or anything."

That made me a little nervous, but I put on a calm charade and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

"You know those old pictures you showed me the night you, uh…told me?" she began, to which I nodded. "Could I see them again? I'm just curious, but if you don't want to it's perfectly fine."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's it?? I thought you were about to ask me something else. Of course you can see them." I took her hand and began leading her to my room.

"What did you think I would ask?" she asked with an odd expression.

"It's nothing, forget it."

"Jasper..."

"I thought you were going to ask me to…change you. Or something along those lines," I murmured, not even wanting to have that conversation.

"Oooh," she said. "I don't think you have to worry about that."

"I don't?" I asked as a burst of happiness coursed inside me.

She vigorously shook her head as she sat on my bed, leaning her back against the headboard. "You know I love you and wouldn't change you for anything, but…I don't know how to explain it. Being a vampire's a big deal, it's not something I'd just casually ask you for, and I don't think it's something I want. I'm not sure if I could handle it or all the sacrifices involved.

"So I never have to worry about you begging for me to bite you?" I asked with a huge smile.

"Not that I can foresee, you might want to check with Alice about that. Why are you so happy about this??"

"It's such a relief, you can't begin to understand," I said, digging through my closet. "I just found out that the person I care about most doesn't want me to kill her. Edward will be so jealous." I found what I was looking for and placed the box beside Amanda on the bed. I sat close to her and also leaned against the headboard.

Amanda gaped at me. "Bella _wants_ that?"

I nodded. "Ridiculous, isn't it?"

"That's incredible…how can she ask him for that?" She paused. "Anyway, moving on," she said and opened the box. She studied the first picture, I wasn't paying attention to what it was of, I was more intent on watching her. Everything about her captivated me, the way she gently held the nearly ancient photograph, how she shook her foot out of nervous habit, and how she periodically shook her head to move her side-swept bangs out of her eye.

I was suddenly very interested in something she had said earlier. "Earlier…did you say you loved me?" I asked randomly.

She met my gaze with shy eyes. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"_Really_?"

"Of course I love you. I'm surprised you didn't know already, with your superpowers and all," she laughed.

"I'm not nearly as insightful as you might think," I pointed out. "But I can tell you what I do know."

"And what's that?"

"That I love you," I said simply before I leaned down and kissed her.

"This is crazy," she laughed. "But I like it."

I smiled and picked up the photograph she had dropped during our kiss. I glanced down at it before handing it back to her. "That's my parents and my sister," I explained, anticipating her question.

"You look just like your mom." She flipped through the pictures, stopping at one randomly. "Aw! You look so young!" she exclaimed, studying a picture of me sitting on my horse shortly before I left for the army.

"I was," I reminded her, refraining from rolling my eyes.

"How'd you get all these?" she asked gesturing towards the pile in her lap.

"I stole them." Her skeptical expression prompted me to elaborate. "I told you after I left Maria I wondered around for awhile. I decided to go back to Texas to see what had happened to my family, even though I couldn't really remember them.

I found my parents' house that my sister lived in it at the time; my parents had died long before. Anna was in her nineties when I showed up. I was careful not to let her, or anyone, see me. They all thought I was dead and there was no reason for them to know otherwise.

Anyway, I broke into the attic and found a trunk with these in it. I didn't intend to take them, but I did anyway. I feel like these photographs are my last hold to the humanity I can't remember."

Amanda nodded thoughtfully. "You really don't remember being human?"

"Some…the bulk of what I do remember is more like random flashes that are foggy and faded. They don't really make sense. But there are a handful of clear things. I guess the clearest thing is the night I met Maria."

"I'm sorry, that must put a damper on the human experience," she said as she absentmindedly traced patterns into my arm with her finger.

"I'd rather be missing a handful of my past than to have missed out on you."

Before she could say anything, something crashed downstairs.

"Dammit, Emmett!" I cursed; I knew he'd hear me. I heard him chuckle and turn on the TV to watch what sounded like a football game. Amanda laughed at me.

"Did school get out early today or something?" she asked.

"No, we usually leave school early on days we're going 'hiking'." I explained.

"I thought you said you weren't leaving until tomorrow?"

"We're not, but the school administration doesn't have to know that," I chuckled.

"And here I thought you were too virtuous to lie like that!" she collapsed into laughter.

"I doubt I've missed any new material," I argued, trying to defend my nonexistent virtuous nature. "Not like you, skipping school today."

"It was your idea, you're such a bad influence!!" she argued playfully.

Alice poked her head in the door. "I'm keeping an eye on Bella this weekend; I've foreseen you staying over here, too. I already called Lillian." Before Amanda could reply, Alice was frolicked away.

"I'm not being babysat, am I?" she scowled.

"No," I assured her. "Bella's being babysat so she doesn't run off with the werewolves, but Alice likes having you around. You're the guest and Bella's the hostage."

"At least I know I'm free to leave anytime. You know, if things get out of hand with pedicures and playing dress up and whatnot," she said, not entirely joking.

"I'll leave the car keys," I said, tossing them on the bedside table. "You'll probably need them."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: So I changed my mind and decided to just continue on with this story instead of making a sequel. I think it's more cohesive and easier to follow this way. And if it's not, I'm sorry! :P

*Amanda's POV…finally*

"Dammit, Hale, do you really have to go?" I whined as Jasper and I waited on the couch downstairs for the rest of the family to get ready to go on their little excursion.

He laughed softly. "It's this or eat you. I'm afraid the latter might upset you."

"Maybe a little. I'm more afraid Alice'll do something unspeakable…like take me shopping." I grimaced at the thought. At least Bella was here to distract Alice's attention a little.

"I told you where the car keys are!" Jasper reminded me with a smile. "Not that it will help much with her around…but at least you know you have an escape. Just don't plan ahead and you'll make it out."

I jumped a little inwardly as the rest of the Cullens, minus Edward, floated silently down the stairs. I figured I'd never get used to the creepy way they appeared out of nowhere. Of course, I could never give them the satisfaction of knowing I was slightly intimidated…except Jasper, who probably had noticed. And Edward probably saw it in my head and tried to be polite and act like he didn't.

Emmett smiled devilishly at me from the bottom of the stairs. He'd been wanting to take me on a ride in his new Hummer since he got it a few days ago, and we hadn't gotten around to it yet. Not that I was too disappointed. Jasper's driving didn't bother me so much because I knew he didn't intend on killing me. I knew that Emmett didn't either, but he did tend to be a bit rougher than Jasper. And I liked all my bones intact and attached, thank you very much.

Jasper flung his arm around my shoulders and shook the hair out of his eyes. He seemed relaxed today, that made me happy. Some days he seemed tense. He kept telling me about the vampires in Seattle and I knew that worried him a lot. But I did wish he wouldn't let it get to him so badly, it wasn't his responsibility to shoulder alone.

A moment later, Edward glided downstairs followed by a morose looking Bella. I felt a pang of sympathy for Edward, Bella being overly dramatic was making leaving a lot more painful for him than it had to be.

Jasper stood up to leave. Only for him, standing up was a more graceful and fluid motion than it ever was for me. He held offered his hand to help me up. I scowled a little, but accepted anyway, choosing to ignore Emmett's snort of amusement. Alice had told me just to deal with the chivalry, that it was a generational thing and I'd grow to appreciate it one day. Either way, I still didn't like feeling helpless.

The Cullens chatted idly among themselves and Alice loomed menacingly in the doorway. I could nearly feel her eyes bore into the back of my head…no doubt thinking of all the "fun" we were about to have.

"Should I be afraid?" I asked Edward.

"Maybe a little," he confessed.

Jasper laughed softly, his velvety deep voice nearly calmed me as much as when he did it intentionally. He absentmindedly played with the end of a lock of my hair.

Carlisle headed out the door and the others followed. Emmett boisterously declared he was ready to go, and dashed off into the woods, followed by Rosalie. Esme came up and hugged me and Bella, before following after them with Carlisle. Before I could blink, both couples were well out of sight. I jokingly wondered if they were in northern California already.

I could tell Jasper was anxious to go but was lingering behind for my sake.

"Get going," I told him, gesturing after the others.

He stood absolutely still and looked at me with an unreadable expression. He looked out of it; maybe he had started seeing visions like Alice. He snapped out of his daze in a second and bent down to kiss my forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he reminded me quietly. "I love you."

My heart nearly melted. "And I love you. Quit procrastinating."

He laughed at me and kissed my hand before bolting off into the forest. I went back into the house, avoiding Alice's pointed stare, and went back to the couch where I had left my book a few days before.

Bella came back inside a few minutes later, too, with tears streaming down her face. I resisted the urge to gag and/or roll my eyes. She sat down in the armchair and stared at me like _I_ was the strange one.

"How do you do it?" she asked.

"Do what?" I had no idea what she was talking about…as usual. I liked Bella, but sometimes her logic completely lost me.

"Just let him go like that. I felt ridiculous clinging onto Edward and you were practically shoving Jasper out the door. How is it so much easier for you?"

I shrugged. "I don't _want_ Jasper to go, but he has to…it's the only way they can stay here for so long. I know he feels bad enough leaving for just a day or two already, without me being difficult and adding to it. It's not like he's not coming back."

I hoped that didn't come off to harsh, I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Jasper had told me about the year before when Edward left her…I assumed her clinginess was largely based in that but had enough sense not to voice it. Maybe I didn't understand her reasoning since I had never lost Jasper.

She nodded slowly. "They all like you, you know."

My head shot up at that. I had never thought that the rest of the Cullens really liked me; I just thought they were making the effort for Jasper. Beautiful and majestic beings like them didn't like nerdy little people like me.

"_What_?" I asked incredulously.

"They adore you," Bella elaborated. "I was over here one day last week and Emmett asked Esme what room you could move into. And then _Alice_ volunteered to give up her _closet space_ for you! Carlisle proposed adding on an addition…and Rosalie offered to help Esme design it. They all love having you here."

I was completely floored. I had a special relationship with Emmett, I knew he liked me, but I never thought he wanted me around all the time. And Alice even _considering_ giving up closet space (which was the size of a large master bedroom) was surely a sign of the apocalypse.

"I hope you do plan on sticking around. Jasper's so much more pleasant to be around with you in the picture." She murmured this so softly I wondered if I was supposed to hear.

"What was he like before?" I asked, intrigued by her assessment. It was hard for me to picture Jasper any other way than the person I had come to know.

"I don't want you to think I disliked him, but I was, and still am, intimidated," she admitted. "He always seemed so detached and disheartened… and was always off brooding in a dark corner, never really a part of things. I thought it might've been just around me, being cautious and all, but Edward said it wasn't. He seems so much happier now and relaxing to be around…so _alive_."

"He still broods a lot, though," I pointed out, laughing. Anytime something serious came up and I couldn't think of anything to say, I deflected it with humor. It was a stupid and obnoxious habit I'd picked up, but Bella laughed with me, though I suspected it was mainly out of pity for my lameness.

"I wish I knew him the way you did," she said more solemnly. "I'm sure there are so many layers under his stoic façade that he doesn't let anyone see…except you. He's so mysterious."

I nodded in agreement. I knew _I_ had let him in more that I'd let anyone in before, but I had never considered he did the same for me. I thought that in this family there weren't any secrets with a mind reader and fortune teller. It touched me to find out that he felt secure enough to show me that other side…the real him.

Alice cleared her throat from the doorway. Bella jumped and I groaned.

"I foresaw you'd be difficult and it hurt my feelings," she sulked. Surely she wasn't going to try and guilt-trip us into anything. "Do you at least want to see what I got you? You can try them on later."

Bella agreed reluctantly and I nodded. Alice's face lit up and she pulled two giant shopping bags out of nowhere. One day I'd have to ask how she did that. She tossed one to me and one to Bella like they weighed nothing.

I dreaded opening the bag, but was pleasantly surprised. They weren't necessarily clothes I would have picked out, but I liked them. They were all mainly in purple and red, my favorite, with some other colors throw in. I thanked Alice and actually meant it. She then started to point out the shirts she had gotten with my new leather jacket in mind. After a few moments I tuned her rambling out. Honestly, it's just a shirt or pair of pants to me.

Bella thanked her too, but perhaps less genuinely. Alice whispered to me that she'd end up dressing Bella herself which made me chuckle. Bella's glare shot daggers at us, but she wasn't too intimidating no matter how hard she tried.

"Ooh! I need your opinion, Amanda!" Alice shrieked and darted out of the room only to return a second later holding a magazine. I was flabbergasted; Alice never needed anyone's opinion. Unless she was about to ask me a food related question. But you don't need magazines for that. Whatever.

"What do you think of this ring?" she asked, thrusting the open magazine in my face.

"It's pretty," I assured her. "Very pretty." The ring had a square face with alternating bars of a blue stone and a diamond bar on a silver band. It was very understated and intricate. "I'd like it better in red, but the blue's pretty too. Why, are you designing an outfit around it?"

"You know me so well!" Alice chirped, looking very satisfied with herself.

Bella looked very tense during all this.

"For God's sake, calm down, Bella, I don't have anything planned!" Alice waved her arms around erratically as if to validate the point.

For some reason, I didn't entirely believe her.


	18. Chapter 18

*Still Amanda's POV

I felt something cold slide into bed with me. I lazily rolled over onto my other side to see who the intruder was who dared wake me from my precious sleep.

"I'm sorry, I tried not to wake you," Jasper apologized. "I know how much you hate that."

"I'll let it slide this time, I'm just glad you're back," I said and rested my head on his chest. The complete absence of a heartbeat always took me by surprise. He laughed to himself, the sunlight peeking in from around the curtains illuminated his smile and made his features faintly sparkle.

"Go back to sleep," he said and stroked my back.

"I'm already awake," I argued. "Did you have fun?"

"If fun is what you want to call it," he snorted. His eyes were back to their light golden color, it must have been a successful trip. "It looks like you had a late night, too."

"Yeah, Bella was boring and went to sleep at like 10 o'clock, so Alice wanted to try out the Porsche on the freeway at 2am since there wouldn't be any traffic. I was all for it because she promised to let me drive some. It was fun; I'm thinking of getting one, all I have to do is sell my organs and possessions and I should have enough money for at least a sixteenth of it."

He just laughed at me and rolled his eyes before hopping out of bed. He strolled over to the window side and kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket into the closet. It was lighter in that area and he sparkled more vividly. I'm sure on the inside he was dying, he hated to sparkle.

I watched the way he moved with amazement. It had to be impossible that he actually existed. I was probably drunk or drugged or dreaming.

"Quit staring, you're making me self conscious," Jasper said, suddenly looking shy.

"As if you don't stare at me all the time!" I pointed out.

He shrugged and I smiled victoriously. What can I say, I liked to be right.

"You should eat," he pointed out, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Bleh."

"I can't have you withering away on me, come on!" And with that he picked me up so fast I didn't have time to react. By the time I had thought of a reaction, we were already downstairs in the kitchen. He gently sat me down in a kitchen chair and asked what I wanted to eat.

"I don't care, surprise me," I said disinterestedly.

"She wants pancakes!" Alice called from the living room. Jasper began to rummage around in the cabinets to look for ingredients.

"Do you even know what goes in a pancake?" I slightly mocked as his search had no results.

"Yes!" he defended. He paused and looked sheepish. "I just don't know where they are. There's a difference!" I rolled my eyes and sat back in the chair, I figured it might be a long wait.

Maybe this was what Bella had been talking about. He wasn't putting on any act and wasn't trying to hide anything. He was just being normal, I would have thought he was always like that if Bella hadn't said otherwise. I told him some of the details of driving the Porsche last night…how Alice was afraid I wasn't going fast enough and wouldn't appreciate the car's true ability. It was hard for me to picture him _not_ being so loving and at ease as he stood there laughing over a skillet.

"Oh, is Bella still here?" I asked, eyeing the huge pile of pancakes.

"No, Edward took her home a few minutes ago."

I warily eyed the plate. "I hope you realize there's no way I can eat all those."

"I know, but the first ones are all messy looking. I had to keep on going until I got it right, so you could eat pretty pancakes! I know how you detest unattractive breakfast foods."

"Make fun of me if you want, but that excuse saved me from eating that bizarre looking thing Grandma cooked up!" I pointed out as I speared a perfectly formed pancake with my fork.

The rest of the day passed slowly but enjoyably. Emmett finally got to give me a ride in the new Hummer. I swear, he sounded just like a parent or proud pet owner when he talked about it.

I strapped myself into the front seat, praying to every god I could think of that I'd make it out in one piece. We weaved around indistinct trails in the woods, narrowly missing trees and plowing through streams. If I hadn't just eaten breakfast it might have been a more enjoyable experience, not nearly as near-death as I had anticipated.

"You're the best little sister ever!!" Emmett declared, scooping me up in an engulfing hug as I slid, on wobbly legs, out of the vehicle and onto the ground I had fantasized about all during the past few hours.

"Why's that?" I managed to choke out, gasping for breath because of the strength of his embrace.

"Because! If it wasn't for you, I never would have thought of this!!!" he gestured excitedly to his new toy. It was like a little kid on Christmas morning. Emmett lingered behind and walked with me at a human pace back up to the house. He kept a slight distance, though… maybe he was afraid I'd throw up on him.

Upon entering, it was unusually quiet.

"Where's everyone?" I asked, looking around for signs of life. Or death. Ha, I crack myself up. I felt bad that Edward had to listen to me.

"Carlisle's at the hospital, Esme's…somewhere, I dunno. And loverboy, Alice, and Rose went somewhere. They told me where but I wasn't listening. I think they went shopping," he explained. "It's just you and me now, kid!" He flopped down on the couch and flipped through the thousands of satellite channels, searching for entertainment.

"Was that hockey??!?" I yelled suddenly.

"Yeah…why?" he stared at me like I was even more deranged than usual.

"Back it up, I love hockey!!!"

"I didn't think you liked sports," he said, returning the TV to the appropriate channel.

"I don't…except hockey!" I said excitedly. He admitted to never having watched it before, so I began to explain the game to him.

"It's so much more violent than football," Emmett observed. "I like it!!!" We spent the next hour or so yelling at the TV screen, swearing at the players, who all seemed completely incapable of taking our suggestions. It was almost like they couldn't hear us.

As the game was winding down, Jasper and the girls burst through the front door. Jasper looked like he had just been put through hell, but his expression brightened when he saw me.

"JAZZY!" Emmett bellowed, earning a scowl in return and I tried not to laugh.

I didn't have to hold back laughter too long, as the next thing I knew Alice was dragging me up the stairs. She led me into the bathroom in her room, with the huge adjacent walk in closet. I casually glanced in as I walked past. There was a lot of room in there…I could fit extremely comfortably and still have space to spare.

Alice set me down on a stool by the vanity and began arranging makeup products. I began to whine when I realized she was about to do another 'makeover'.

"Just let me have my fun, no one else will!" she pleaded, using sad eyes. "Besides, I got these with you in mind!"

I 'humphed' but didn't protest further. The sooner I gave in, the sooner she'd be through. She started putting makeup on my face at lightening speed, I was afraid if I stopped her I'd lose an eye. But I did get a lot more nervous when she turned me around so I couldn't see what she was doing to me.

After putting god knows what on my face, she attacked my hair with a flat iron. I felt bad I hadn't straightened it in a few days; she had an uphill battle to fight if she wanted to tame my unruly hair today.

Alice's senseless chatter suddenly ceased and she went into what looked like a catatonic state. She snapped out of it in a few seconds and picked up right where she left off, without ever missing a beat.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, referring to her vision.

"Of course, Edward and Bella are on their way over, that's all." I got the feeling she was holding out on me, but I couldn't prove it so I sat cooperatively as she turned me into a cosmetic campaign.

"You're finished!!" she declared proudly and then disappeared from the room. She must be needed downstairs, I reasoned. I didn't even bother looking in the mirror; I knew it would just freak me out. I trudged downstairs after her to see what the fuss was about.

I slinked down the stairs, hoping to go unnoticed and sat by Emmett, who was perched on one of the bottom steps, watching the discussion.

"I swear, Edward, I didn't do it!" Alice insisted, seeming alarmed. She and Edward had a silent conversation as the rest of us looked on expectantly.

"What's going on?" I asked Emmett quietly.

"Bella got back home and realized some of her things were gone. Some clothes, her pillow, things with her scent…wow," he glanced at me for the first time.

"What?" I asked.

"You look…uh, yeah. Really nice," he stammered.

I would have laughed if I hadn't been so perplexed by the other conversation in the room. Edward was now speaking with Jasper, who had apparently brought up (or thought of) the newborn army possibility again.

"Oh, I didn't think of that. I see. Well that changes everything," Edward said in Jasper's direction.

"See what? Someone tell me what's going on!" Bella both pleaded and demanded.

"I'm glad we have your expertise," Edward continued speaking to Jasper.

Bella groaned and appeared on the urge of hysterics.

"You're confused," Jasper said quietly, I assumed, to Bella.

"We're all confused," Emmett grumbled.

"You can afford the time to be patient. Bella should understand this, too. She's one of us now," he continued, casting a sweeping glance around the room and looking relieved when he found me nearly hidden behind Emmett.

"How much do you know about me, Bella?" he asked patiently. Emmett sighed theatrically and moved to sit in front of the TV, where the rest of the family had migrated.

"Not much," she admitted.

I came out from the shadow of the stairwell and stood closer to Jasper. I didn't know what I was planning on doing, but he looked uncomfortable having so much attention on him. He seemed to relax a little at my near presence. He stared at Edward, who looked up to meet his gaze.

"No," Edward answered his thought, "I'm sure you can understand why I haven't told her that story. But I suppose she needs to hear it now."

Jasper nodded, rolled up his sleeve and held his wrist up under the lamp's light. I nodded in understanding of what he was doing.

"Oh," Bella said. "Jasper, you have a scar exactly like mine."

"I have a lot of scars like yours, Bella," he smiled faintly. My heart went out to him; I knew he hated doing this. His past was so painful I imagined that repeating the story over and over offered little consolation. He his sleeve up further and more scars were illuminated in the lamplight.

"Jasper, what _happened_ to you?" Bella asked, her voice dripping with shock.

"The same thing that happened to your hand. Repeated a thousand times," he continued in the same quiet voice that had come to be so familiar to me.

Edward led Bella over to the table to sit down, he and I knew what a long story this was. Jasper and I followed them. I sat beside him and took his hand under the table, trying to offer support in some way, as he launched into the story of his life that I knew he'd much rather forget.

A/N: I copied a bit from Eclipse in this chapter, as I'm sure you can tell. So I'd be really happy if no one sued me :D. Anyway, I'm sure you guys can see the direction it's going in now…


	19. Chapter 19

~So, I admit it, I copied some parts from "Eclipse" in this chapter because it'd be too hard to re-write it. So don't sue me and we'll all be happy! I also skipped over a bunch of it because I'm too lazy to retype a whole chapter, and reworked some of it.

"That's a nice story," Bella said once Jasper had finished telling her of his past.

Jasper, Edward and I stared at her like she had officially gone of the deep end.

"I meant the last part," she quickly added. "The happy ending." I pondered Bella's sanity by her choice to refer to me as Jasper's "happy ending."

"An army, "Alice whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?" everyone then turned to stare at Jasper.

"I thought I must be interpreting the signs incorrectly," he explained before launching into the speech I'd already heard. I didn't really listen, but I tried to. I should get points for that or something.

"You knew about this?" Edward asked me quietly.

I nodded.

"And you didn't _say_ anything?"

"_I_ asked her not to," Jasper cut in, suddenly very defensive. Edward backed off, not wanting to agitate his brother and the expertise included.

What was I supposed to say to them anyway, even if Jasper hadn't asked me to tell? I couldn't explain it half as well as him and Edward should've understood that. They discussed all their options for awhile, who they could turn to for help, why Alice wasn't seeing anything that was going on, how to keep Bella safe, and if they'd have to act before the Volturi.

I could see Jasper getting tenser by the second, all the nervous energy must've been wearing on him. I was perched beside him on the couch, unsure of what to do to help. Bella's panic certainly didn't help, but I didn't blame her. She was actually taking it rather well, a lot better than I would have if I'd been told a pack of crazed and vengeful vampires were coming after me.

"What about Amanda?" Bella suddenly asked. Everyone turned sharply to look at her.

"_What_?" Jasper asked in a quiet, yet hard voice.

"I mean, she's been over here just as much as I have so her scent is all around. And your scent," she looked at Jasper, "is at her house and all over her things, I imagine. What if that got their attention and…sidetracked them?" Bella looked nervous just saying that out loud.

"There's no reason for any vampires outside of us to know about Amanda," Carlisle began. "Besides, Alice doesn't see her being involved."

"Alice can't see a lot of things," Jasper said stiffly. I briefly wondered if it was possible for him to become so tense he'd actually break. I glanced down at his clenched hands half expecting to see little cracks forming in his stone like skin.

Alice looked offended but didn't speak. She appeared more frustrated than anything.

"Even if the Volturi or someone does know about Amanda, there's no reason to kill her," Emmett chimed in, seeming unusually serious. "I mean, no one's ever lost a mate because of her, and she hasn't…you know. Caused any problems."

Carlisle snatched up a cell phone from Jasper and began calling other vampires who he thought could help. He didn't seem to be having much luck.

"This isn't good," Jasper said after Carlisle was off the phone and we all knew what had transpired. "It's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill, but not in numbers. We'd win, but at what price?"

Bella's eyes widened in horror.

A tense moment passed before anyone said anything, then the nervous chatter began all at once. I found myself sandwiched between Jasper and Emmett as we stood in an informal circle.

I glanced over just in time to see Jasper slip silently out of the room. I looked over to the others to see if I was the only one who saw. Alice gave me a reassuring smile, although it looked a bit forced. Emmett nudged me in the direction Jasper had disappeared off in.

I went onto the front porch, assuming he'd be out there. And I was right. He was seated on the stairs, his head between his hands like he had a migraine or something. I tried to be quiet as I made my way over to sit beside him, but he could probably hear me coming a mile away.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I didn't know what to say and didn't want to bother him by doing anything stupid, which was bound to happen sooner or later. I'd"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, not looking up from his hands. "But I couldn't be in there any longer."

"You don't have to explain anything."

I wished I could have helped him in some way, but I knew I couldn't. I slid closer to him and started to lightly rub his back with one hand. I knew it probably didn't make any difference, but it was all I could think of.

"I can't believe I've gotten you into this," Jasper mumbled so low I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear.

"Everything'll be fine," I tried to reassure him.

The Volvo roared out of the driveway, Edward must've been taking Bella home. Tomorrow was Monday, we had school. That was an inconvenient thing to remember.

"No one knows that," he said, looking up for the first time. His anguished gaze met mine. I'd never seen him look so tortured.

"We'll figure something out, nothing bad's gonna happen," I continued on my quest to be upbeat. I was annoying even myself… which happens pretty regularly, anyway.

"If something happens to you because of this…because of me…I couldn't live with myself," he continued. "I don't want to put you under constant watch like they're doing to Bella, I know how much you would hate it. But I don't know how to keep you safe. With Alice not seeing anything…I can't take a risk on your safety. I just don't know what to do."

"Stay with me then," I suggested. "Then you'll know firsthand everything's fine and won't worry yourself sick over it."

"I guess that's the best way," he reluctantly agreed. "But I would feel bad babysitting you like that."

"Whatever'll make you calm down."

He laughed apologetically. "Am I making you nervous?"

"Not really, but I am afraid you'll break a finger off or something," I said, gesturing to his hands clasped together in an iron grip.

He shook his head and smiled slightly in spite of himself.

"I should get you home, too. _You_ have to sleep."

"It's not even late!" I whined.

"Quit protesting, there's only another week or so of classes left anyway," he said and stood up.

"I'm not protesting!" I protested, but I got to my feet anyway. I figured I could go willingly, or kicking and screaming. I was too tired for the latter option. He took my hand and led me into the house.

Alice appeared in the doorway and jingled some car keys. Jasper nodded and Alice led the way to the garage with Jasper and I close behind.

"Is someone planning to tell me what's going on?" I groaned as Jasper crawled into the backseat and Alice started the Mustang as I got into the front.

"I'm taking you home, what does it look like?" Alice chuckled.

"But why is he coming? I'm so confused!" I said exasperatedly. Sometimes I felt like I was missing the part of my brain that made logical assumptions.

"I'm staying with you, but there has to be a car to drop you off in. Alice will come back in the morning to pick us up for school, only we'll make it look like I came too. It's a secret that I'm staying over, what would the neighbors think?" Jasper rambled, seeming almost cheerful. Maybe Alice's mood was rubbing off on him.

I rolled my eyes at him as Alice drove us into the darkness. We arrived at my house in an almost record time. Jasper and I got out of the car and Alice tore away. Jasper grinned sneakily at me before dashing up the large tree by the house and up onto the roof with no effort.

I was very jealous of his coordination as I walked at a painfully slow and lackluster pace inside. I felt so boring next to him sometimes. It wasn't fair he got to be all cool and interesting and I had to be so unexciting. I sighed in frustration and flung the front door open.

"I'm glad you decided to come back," Grandma laughed, looking up from her magazine on the couch.

I shrugged. "They got tired of me."

"I don't believe it. That Alice has more energy than anyone I've ever seen. It looks to me like you got tired and she got bored and sent you home!"

I laughed. That wasn't a far off explanation… I could've believed it.

"That Jasper seems nice," she continued. "Did they have a good camping trip?"

I nodded and sensed this would be a longer conversation than I thought it would be, so I sat on the sofa with her. Although I didn't think it would be much of a conversation, she would talk and talk and I'd nod occasionally. Grandma could give Alice a rambling run for her money.

"He's such a gentleman. Maybe a little old fashioned, too. Is he from the South, by any chance?"

"Texas," I answered. I had no idea where she was going with this. It made me a little nervous. But I imagined that Jasper was getting a kick out of listening from upstairs.

"He's a good boy; you should hang on to him. I'm relieved you've ended up with someone so…normal. With your eccentric nature I was worried who would strike your fancy."

I was amused and surprised. Amused at the fact she had referred to the man upstairs, who was old enough to be her great-great-grandfather or something, as a boy. Surprised that she used the phrase "ended up with"…like it was permanent. Everyone I knew had officially lost their minds.

"Well, I'll let you get going. You have to get up early for school…we all know you're not a morning person," she laughed and shooed me up the stairs.

I scowled at the thought of waking up early. I fervently believed that life shouldn't be allowed to start before at least noon. About the only upside to being a vampire I could see was never having to wake up early. Or wake up at all, for that matter.

I swung my door open to see Jasper lying on his back on my bed smiling.

"A good boy?" he smirked.

"She's old and delusional," I explained and shut the door.

"Apparently. At least I know now I'm a good actor. I should pursue that. It might be a nice little hobby."

"No, because then I'd have to share you with oodles of crazed fangirls!" I protested as I crawled into bed next to him. "I'm not a good sharer. They told me so in first grade."

"You're so peculiar," he chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist. He pulled me in closer so my back was firmly against his chest.

"That means so muchcoming from the vampire." I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "You could get under the covers, you know. I'm not the one that bites."

He laughed into my hair. "I can't. You'll be freezing after a few minutes."

I hadn't thought of that…obviously. I was glad his brain seemed to be more active than mine. Or maybe it was all that "extra room to think," as he explained to me once.

"Isn't there a technical term for this?" he asked randomly.

"Talking?"

"No, this. I think it's called some form of a utensil. Knifing? Spatula -ing?"

"Spooning?" I snorted.

"That's it. I knew it was something like that, I can't keep up with all of this newfangled lingo," he laughed.

I tried to stifle a yawn with a laugh. I didn't fool him.

"Go to sleep," he said soothingly.

"But you'll be bored just waiting for me to wake up. You can leave, if you want. I don't want you to feel trapped."

"Do you not want me here?" He sounded like he was trying to sound hurt. It wasn't working.

"Of course I do!" I defended. "But I don't want you to feel like you have to guard me every second of every day. I don't think I'll be in any immediate danger. I'm too dull for anyone to care about killing."

"You're the farthest thing from dull I have ever encountered."

There was a slight pause. I concentrated on his presence, amazed that _he_ wanted to be with me. I might never understand it, but I certainly wasn't complaining. Any girl would be thrilled to have him around just to look at, but I'd to know the real Jasper that was hidden from so many others.

"Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, and I'm not gonna get upset, I'm just curious," I said pensively.

"That was one question, but I guess I'll allow another. I'm feeling generous."

Ha, the more he was around me the more he turned into a smartass. I should be more careful, at least one person in this relationship needed to have some morals and be wholesome.

"I mean, I know you've been around a long time, so I'm curious if there's ever been…anyone else?" I got a little nervous. Not so much about his answer, just that I didn't want him to think it really mattered to me. It did a little, but not too much. He'd been alive nearly two centuries; he was allowed to have a past. But I did want to know about it.

"Not seriously," he answered, sounding a tad relieved. "Maria and I had a…physical…thing, but nothing more important. When I was alive there was a girl my parents wanted me to court and marry eventually. I didn't dislike her, but she wasn't anything special enough to catch my interest. Lucky for me, by the next year they would all think I was dead."

"But Alice doesn't have anyone, and you didn't until recently. So why didn't the two of you get together?"

"I'd often wondered that myself. I never had actual romantic feelings for her, but I see your point…the matter of convenience," he explained further. I was glad he wasn't getting frustrated with me. "I always assumed she saw something about me she didn't like…maybe in my future, probably a slip-up. But now I think that maybe she saw you."

"That's sweet," I said. I rolled over so I was facing him. I was so much shorter than him that the way we were laying, my head was even with his chest. I hated being a mere 5'3".

He leaned down to my level and kissed me lightly.

"You know," I began suggestively. "It'd be okay if you just admitted you had freaky vampire sex with Maria." I tried to hold in the laughter; I could hardly wait to see his reaction, it would be priceless.

He didn't ruffle a feather, but instead laughed quietly. "Fine, we had freaky vampire sex. But that still doesn't change the fact that you need to go to sleep."

I wrinkled my nose. I didn't want to go to sleep.

"I'll be here when you wake up, don't worry," he said soothingly. "By the way, you look beautiful."

"Alice," I explained.

"Alice can't do everything," Jasper said and I drifted off to sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

I opened the bathroom door and a cloud of fog escaped. I groped my way to my room, you'd think that showering would wake me up more but it didn't. I blame school for making me get up so early. Damn education.

Jasper was sitting at the desk looking at a book or my sketchbook or something. It entertained me that he was trying to be so unassuming. I could tell he was on his best behavior, trying not to annoy me since he understood that I'm not a morning person.

I grabbed some clothes that I thought were probably clean and dashed to the bathroom to change, brush my hair and maybe do some makeup. I had forgotten to wash Alice's handiwork off the night before and now I had raccoon eyes. In a few hours I figured I could probably laugh about it…maybe.

After completing my morning ritual I trudged back to my room, feeling a bit more awake. Jasper was still at the desk trying his very best not to be obnoxious. I dashed up behind him, wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed his neck lightly.

"What was that for?" he asked, cocking his head back to look at me.

"I dunno. I'm growing exceptionally fond of you, Jasper Hale. That and you put up with me so nicely in the mornings."

He laughed quietly. "I do what I can."

"What's all that?" I asked, gesturing to a pile of things by the bed that hadn't been there earlier.

"Alice dropped by while you were in the shower. I now have the car keys, a change of clothes, and my school things."

I nodded as I yawned, earning another laugh from him. I playfully glared at him. I then began the never-ending quest to locate all my school books that are always scattered around. At the end of the school year I always lost all sense of organization.

I thought I could hear Jasper rummaging around, I assumed he was changing clothes or something so I prolonged my search to give him some privacy. I knew he didn't care, but I always tried to give him the same respect he gave me.

I turned around a moment later, figuring he had had enough time since he could move a thousand times faster than me. I flung the books I had managed to find on the bed and began putting them in my messenger bag just in time to see him pull his shirt down over his muscular and ravaged torso.

The scars on his upper body looked so much worse than the ones and his and face. They looked incredibly painful and jagged even to my puny human vision. I had always been curious about why, I'd seen them before, but never saw the need to ask. Or rather, the opportunity had never presented itself.

He didn't like to really talk about his past and I wasn't going to make him. He had opened up to me a lot, but I didn't want to push him.

"Rough looking, isn't it?" he asked grimly, sensing my curiosity.

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"You're still curious," he pointed out.

I didn't know what to say. And I had already shrugged, so that was out.

He laughed, his deep voice calm. "You can see these scars," he gestured toward his torso, "because the wounds were more severe. There's more flesh for a newborn to get a better grip on, making them able to bite deeper. Then, you have to yank them off with more force and the flesh rips even more."

My eyes widened imagining the pain he must have been put through. He shuddered slightly, as if trying to shake the memory.

"You didn't have to tell me if you didn't want to," I said lamely. It didn't make a difference now, but I felt compelled to say it.

"I know, but you have a right to know."

"I do?"

The smirk returned to his face. "If the worst question you ever ask me is about my scars then I think I'm a lucky man." In less than a second he had crossed the room and kissed me.

"I'll be back in 2 minutes," he murmured into my hair. "Try to seem surprised when I come to the door to pick you up."

"I'll see what I can do," I laughed. I squeezed his hand lightly before I let go and he leapt out the window. He was so graceful, even with an armful of things to carry. It wasn't fair. But I didn't live with the constant fear of killing everyone in town, so I supposed the score was pretty even.

I managed to drag myself and my bag downstairs to retrieve some breakfast. I grabbed a bagel and sat at the table with Grandma, who was reading the morning newspaper. She greeted me entirely too cheerfully. I responded with a grumble and a mouthful of bagel.

What was probably exactly two minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. Grandma got up to answer it.

"Hello, Jasper!" she greeted, oozing with morning glee that I didn't understand. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"No ma'am, I already ate," he said politely.

"Aw, you said ma'am! That's so sweet; Amanda told me you were from Texas!" Grandma gushed. I wondered if she was really that taken with Jasper or if some of it was his doing.

If he didn't tone it down I might have to fight my own grandmother for my man. I could totally take her. But she did have those dentures…those could probably do serious damage.

I stood up to indicate I was ready to go. This slight hint was supposed to signal to Grandma to quit badgering Jasper, but it didn't work. Jasper got it though, and stepped lightly over to the sofa and picked up my bag I had unceremoniously flung there.

I put my arm in Jasper's and led us out the door, calling a goodbye to Grandma over my shoulder.

"You should really lay off, ya know," I pointed out as he held the car door open for me. "One day when she hurls herself at you I won't be able to help."

He laughed and was in the car with me in a second. He gently placed my bag in the backseat, like it was full of breakables or something.

"You could've left your clothes in my room," I rambled. "Grandma doesn't go through my things."

"I'm not worried about _her_ finding them; I'm more concerned about my scent attracting other vampires to you. Especially with this upcoming…ordeal." He paused and smiled in spite of the seriousness of the topic. "Although…I'm sure Lillian is equally as terrifying when she's angry."

He reached over and took my hand. The coldness of his skin didn't take me by surprise anymore. Actually, now it felt strange to touch someone with a normal body temperature. People were too hot, I didn't like it.

I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder as we drove the short distance to school, desperate for a last minute nap.

"You can make it, today's the last full day of class. Tomorrow's a half day because of prom," he tried to reassure me.

"Ha…prom. Bella…ha," I smirked, doubtful that he understood my incoherent sentence.

He smiled broadly. "I'm sure Emmett will fill us in."

"I'm just glad Alice didn't guilt me into going to prom too, like Bella."

Jasper laughed. "She wanted too, but you're more stubborn than Bella. And you know what you want and don't want. She foresaw you'd make up an elaborate lie to back out, anyway."

I sat up and tried to compose myself enough to go inside the school. It was technically my last day of high school, which should be exciting, but I was entirely too bored and tired of it to care. I'd only been through it once, I couldn't imagine how bored Jasper and the others must be since they've suffered through high school a dozen or so times.

"Ugh, can you make me wake up?" I asked, trying to hold my eyes open.

I was suddenly hit with a bolt of energy.

"That'll work, thanks," I laughed as I took Jasper's offered hand and climbed out of the car.

He grabbed our bags from the backseat and we began to meander to the building. His arm was around my shoulders, mine was around his waist. I tried to hide a smirk as we got odd looks from a few people. Even after several months, people still weren't used to seeing us together.

Jasper shook his head and failed to hide a smile. "The way they stare you'd think one of the wolves phased in front of them," he laughed quietly.

"They're just jealous."

"Yes…they are." Jasper's eyes narrowed as we walked past a group of students congregated by the lockers. Whatever they were feeling he wasn't happy about. Overprotective fool.

We parted ways to go to our separate morning classes. Jasper went to his Honors Calculus class and I went to my normal person math class. We didn't do anything in any of the classes though, there wasn't a point to start new material. Students were hopping around and talking animatedly amongst themselves. I sat in the back of the room and doodled. I'm such a social butterfly.

"So, how're things going with you and Hale?" a random girl approached me and asked. I thought her name was Katie, but really had no idea.

"Fine…?" I answered, not sure where it was going.

"You two seem pretty close…is it getting serious?" she demanded further.

I shrugged, trying to be vague. She was probably in on some bet or prepared to start rumors or something, I didn't trust her with the truth.

"More power to you, then," mystery girl continued. "He's so intimidating I can't imagine being in close to him. I'd feel like he could kill me any minute or something."

I sneered down at my doodle. Nothing could've been further from the truth. It was just another reminder that the Jasper I knew was drastically different from who everyone else knew…even his family.

The mystery girl got bored with my lack of response and frolicked off to join her gaggle of friends, obviously sharing our conversation. That's why I couldn't be a vampire; all those annoying people wouldn't survive my first year. And I'm not sure I would've been too apologetic.

The next few classes passed relatively quickly, lunch rolled around in what seemed like no time at all. I rushed to the cafeteria, eager to see Jasper again, who I could have an intelligent conversation with.

He had beaten me to the table, his head was resting facedown on the tabletop.

"You okay?" I asked as I sat down by him.

He nodded, but I thought I saw his arm shaking slightly.

"You seem…nervous," I kept on.

He nodded again but didn't look up. I glanced down at the other end of the table to see Bella and Edward having what appeared to be a very serious conversation. That must've been what was bothering Jasper, I reasoned.

He took a deep breath and straightened himself up. Alice was watching us with a knowing smile from her seat across from us. I stuck my tongue out at her and snatched the apple from the tray of food that she wouldn't eat.

I glanced at Jasper as I munched on the apple. If it were possible, he looked paler than usual.

"Seriously, are you okay?" I asked again, getting a little concerned.

"Psh, he's just recovering from being without you for a few hours," Emmett laughed. "He's all needy and stuff. It's quite a sight."

"I'm fine, I don't mean to worry you," Jasper apologized, ignoring his brother. "There's just a lot of nervous energy. It's wearing on me." He gestured toward Bella's end of the table.

"Calm down," I instructed as I reached out to lightly touch his shaking hand. "Don't give yourself an aneurism. Then who would protect me from Alice's evil whims??"

Jasper smiled softly and Alice pretended to be hurt.

'We're about to become _a lot_ closer," Alice smiled. She could look really creepy when she wanted to. They all could.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked. I felt sure she was just trying to mess with my head or something.

"You'll find out soon enough…"

I hated when she trailed off suggestively like that. We're not all mind readers, dammit! That last remark must have gotten Edward's attention because he turned in his seat to give me a strange look.

"Jazz knows what I'm talking about," Alice continued taunting.

I wrinkled my nose at her and glanced at Jasper, who stared straight ahead with an unreadable expression.

He snapped out of his daze and smiled at me. "Just ignore her, she's being stupid."

A/N: Sorry guys, another cliffhanger-ish ending! Everything should start coming together in the next few chapters, the story should be finished pretty soon!! I like reviews!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: this was a really hard chapter to write, I'm not really sure why, so that's why it's rather short. Hope you like it!!**

"Smile, Jasper!" Amanda laughed as I looked up to be greeted by the blinding flash of a camera.

She adjusted the settings on the camera and looked at me thoughtfully before asking, "Do you show up on film…cause, you know, Dracula didn't."

"As far as I know I do," I chuckled, still seeing spots.

"I guess it's getting too dark to take good pictures this far into the woods, we should head out towards the clearing," she said as she adjusted the F-stop on the camera **(I'm a photography nerd…it's embarrassing :P)** I had given her a few weeks before. She hadn't had the chance to try it out before now, so I suggested we go into the woods so she could take pictures of trees and plants and…whatever. Rocks maybe.

We walked out to the fringe of the woods where the light trickled through in between the trees with more regularity.

"Much better!" she declared and snapped another picture of me. "You're gonna look cool in black and white!!"

I laughed at her as she crouched on the ground and put a new roll of film in. She held the button down a few times and took several shots of something. I wasn't looking, I'd gotten distracted looking at some bark on a tree. Having super clear vision made me pretty ADD sometimes.

"You're sure you're okay?" Amanda asked again, eyeing me skeptically. She had meandered up beside me to see what I was looking at.

"Positive," I lied, trying to convey poise and keep my anxiousness at bay. It was strange that she could pick up on my different moods without actually being affected by them. Weird.

She shrugged. I didn't think she believed me, but whatever. I loped behind her as she dashed about, snapping random pictures of things I'd never cast a second glance at. A strong wind suddenly gusted through the edge of the forest. I instinctively tensed and scanned the area for any of the unwanted guests we were expecting.

I suggested we head out towards the meadow, with the eventual intent of heading home. It was going to get dark shortly; one of us had to worry about getting hypothermia. Even in late May it was still entirely too cold here. Way too frigid for my southern bones.

Amanda looped her arm through mine as I led the way, weaving between the trees. I tried to quell the nerves that were bubbling throughout my body. I wasn't being successful.

I shoved a shaky hand into my pocket as Amanda detached herself from me and wondered a few paces ahead, totally absorbed in documenting oddities in the forest. I lingered behind, unsure of what to do. I knew what I wanted to do, but it was still nerve wracking. _Incredibly_ nerve wracking.

I shook a piece of my unruly and nappy hair out of my eyes. I could practically feel Alice's desire to take a flat iron to it, even from here. She really wanted me to be a metrosexual vampire. I wasn't for it. She could straighten my hair the day that Emmett wore that pink shirt she bought him. I'd even told her that and she seemed disappointed… I thought I was pretty safe.

Amanda had perched herself on a log and was tinkering with something on the camera. I sat beside her silently, to see if she was too focused on her camera to pay any mind. Luckily for me, she was. The small box in my pocket suddenly felt like it weighed a ton.

"I love you," I said simply.

She smiled and met my gaze. "And I love you. There's no question of that."

"Can you do something for me then?"

She nodded and snapped the back of the camera closed. I used this moment of distraction to take her hand and slide soundlessly down onto one knee. I knew she wasn't one for tradition but I wanted to do this right.

"Will you marry me?"

Her eyes widened in surprised and a smile curled at the corners of her mouth. "Are you serious?"

"Deathly serious," I smiled. Her habit of bringing humor into serious situations must have rubbed off on me.

"Of course I'll marry you!" she laughed and jumped into my arms.

I kissed the top of her head as we embraced.

"I almost forgot," I said and reached into my pocket, pulling out the velvet box. Amanda adjusted so she was sitting on my still bent knee.

"It's perfect," she said as I slid the ring on her finger.

I was relieved; Alice and Rose had gone ring shopping with me and they both had insisted this was the perfect ring from the moment I laid eyes on it, but I was skeptical. I tended to over think things and this was a big event. I didn't want to mess it up. But I could tell that Amanda was incredibly happy. That made me happy…and the fact that the girl I loved more than anything I could have imagined had agreed to marry me.

"Is this why you've been so weird all day?" she asked, looking up from her ring. Her engagement ring.

I laughed and nodded, relief flooded through me like an open vein.

"Did you think I'd turn you down or something?"

I shrugged. "No, but proposing is an intimidating thing to do!"

She laughed and laid her head on my shoulder. "I'm marrying a lunatic. I'm getting _married_. I never would've seen that coming."

"I don't want you to feel pressured or anything," I began to explain. "I mean, we can get married as soon as you want, or we can wait as long as you want. Tomorrow or a few decades from now…it's immaterial to me. It's all up to you; you're the one wild enough to agree to put up with me."

Her kiss silenced my rambling.

"So what's my last name gonna be?" she asked with an amused smirk as I scooped her up. She reached down and grabbed her camera from the log where she had left it and I began heading in the direction of home.

"For all intensive purposes Whitlock," I said. "But, I guess we'll have to stick Hale and/or Cullen in there too, if the occasion should call for it."

A permanent smile rested on my face as I carried my _fiancé_ in my arms.

"This is so crazy," she laughed as I dashed back to the house.

Alice was sitting on the front steps waiting for us, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"I told you so!!!" she grinned triumphantly, engulfed Amanda in a hug and then me. She ushered us inside where we were quickly bombarded. I didn't mind the attention this time, though. Maybe my days of wanting to melt into walls had passed.

"_Baby sister!!!!!!!!!!!!"_ Emmett nearly shrieked, swallowing Amanda and I up in a giant embrace. "_And Jazzy_!!!!!"

We were passed around the room, being hugged so many times I wondered if they had accidentally dislodged any part of Amanda with their iron-like embraces.

Bella and Edward were there, too. Bella congratulated us politely and enthusiastically, but I picked up on a twinge of jealousy. Edward was excited for us, I knew he was still skeptical of my willpower, but he later told me he was glad I was finally happy.

"How did everyone know already?" Amanda asked me quietly as the excitement began to die down a little.

"It's hard to keep a secret in this family."

"I guess I'll have to get used to that," she smiled.


	22. Chapter 22

"Ma'am?" I said as I held out my hand for Amanda to take.

As usual, she rolled her eyes but accepted my gesture to help her out of the car.

"You and your manners," she grumbled. "You make me look like an impolite shrew!"

"Old habits die hard," I smirked. "You've been reading Shakespeare again, haven't you? Unless 'shrew' is now a staple in your vocabulary."

"I couldn't sleep," she explained sheepishly.

"Me neither."

We strolled into the school for the last time as students. Today was the last day of exams and graduation was the next night.

"It's nice to be through with all this crap for good," Amanda remarked, gesturing towards the building complex.

"Maybe for _you_," I sneered.

"Be optimistic, Jazzy!"

Ugh, Jazzy. She'd been around Emmett way too much lately; I'd have to start putting a limit on their time together before she picked up any more bizarre habits from him. Or worse…he could tell her stories. About _me_. There were so many embarrassing ones to choose from.

"One day, they'll peg you with a terrible nickname, too. Just wait!" I tried to keep a straight face but I ended up cracking a smile.

"I'd consider it a comforting gesture of acceptance into your family unit," Amanda informed me with a superior expression.

"You've definitely been reading Shakespeare."

She laughed as I waited while she threw books into her locker. "That was a good one though, I'm proud of that sentence!"

I patted her on the head like a little kid, which promptly earned a playful smack on the arm. A handful of people in the hallway were watching us. They were astounded to see my serious demeanor disappear.

We parted ways at the end of the hall. She went to take her "normal person math class" final, and I to my Calculus. We only had those finals today, so if we survived we could go straight home, which was nice.

I breezed through my test, another perk of not sleeping is being able to master useless skills like Calculus. I leaned against Amanda's locker and waited for her to finish.

My entire body froze and my eyes were locked on a random student who rushed down the hall, his hands holding his bleeding nose. I could see the dark liquid drip down his hand, I could see every drop. I stopped breathing and concentrated on not attacking him. I didn't trust myself with any movement at all, afraid that I'd lash out and not realize it until it was too late. Even after he had darted into the bathroom the smell of the blood still lingered to taunt me.

Alice strolled up to me with her dance-like gait, obviously using her ability to arrive at the perfect time. "I hope you and Amanda are planning on coming straight home."

I shrugged. "Whatever she wants to do."

"Well…you should come home." She grinned mischievously.

"I don't like the sound of that." It freaked me out when she used her ability against my will. Whatever she had up her sleeve was probably wedding related, anyway.

"You say that now!" she chuckled in that all-knowing way of hers.

"Alice," I said in a more serious tone. "I don't want you to pressure her into some huge wedding affair. That's not her style, or mine, and you know it. Please don't make her feel guilty for not wanting a wedding like Rose's last one."

I shuddered at the memory of Emmett and Rosalie's latest wedding. I'd never seen so much frill and lace in all my life. It was terrible.

"Silly boy, I wouldn't do something like that! I just have a few…suggestions."

"You have visual aids, don't you?" I groaned. Whenever she put together a presentation she had serious plans.

Alice beamed. "You know me so well!!! Of course, it would be easier to work with if one of you would come up with a date, or at least a time frame. But for not being able to see, I think it's coming along magnificently!"

And with that she ambled off, feeling very pleased with herself. I didn't have long to revel in my thoughts before Amanda strolled triumphantly out of the classroom that had held her hostage.

"I take it the test went well, then?" I asked, reading into her pleasant mood.

"No," she laughed. "But it's over now. It's kinda funny, really. I have all As and Bs…then a D in math. But as long as they let me graduate and Cornell still wants me it doesn't matter. Are you okay? You look exceptionally more pained than usual."

"Someone has a nosebleed," I explained and gestured toward the restroom.

Amanda, sensing my strong desire not to talk about it, commented on how having to wake up to take an hour long test was a perfect waste of time. I took her bag and led us out to the parking lot, where Emmett, Rose and Alice were waiting by the Hummer. I was glad to be out of the building.

"Are you gonna let me finally drive?!" Amanda called to Emmett from across the lot.

"No chance in hell!" he laughed and leaped up into the massive vehicle as if to protect it.

Alice frolicked over to us.

"We're going home, don't worry," I said before she had to ask or remind me.

"Excellent!" she swung up into the Hummer and the three of them rumbled out of the parking lot.

"What was that about?" Amanda asked as we got in the Mustang.

"I'm not too sure, she wants to show us something at home, I guess."

Amanda swore in Italian again. I snorted in laughter.

"It won't be bad, I told her not to guilt you into anything. And if she does, I can make her feel absolutely terrible about doing it."

Amanda's laughed seemed a bit forced, but she was relieved. "As long as I don't end up in some huge white dress in some massive church. It's too formal. And strange. Of course, I'm strange, but not over the top like that."

I couldn't picture her in a traditional wedding either. Or me either, for that matter.

"We could just elope," I suggested, halfway serious.

A huge grin broke out on her face. "I'll have to think about that. It wouldn't be so bad, everyone could still be there and all."

"Emmett could get a license from the internet and perform the ceremony," I suggested. "That would be about as far from traditional as we could get."

We both dissolved into laughter at the idea of Emmett conducting any sort of formal procedure.

"Time to go face the firing squad," Amanda murmured as we pulled into the drive. She looked up at me suddenly, like she had realized something important. "I don't want you to think I don't want to marry you or anything, but I don't want the actual _wedding_ to be an…ordeal. Ya know?"

I laughed at her. "I understand completely. Alice does too, don't let her or Rose fool you."

"God, it's like a disco ball convention in here," she giggled quietly to herself and me as we, reluctantly, entered the living room.

"I'll _pretend_ I didn't hear that," Emmett growled from his seat on the couch.

"I'm so afraid," Amanda said sarcastically.

I'm engaged to the only human in existence who isn't afraid of Emmett. _Vampires_ are afraid of Emmett, but not Amanda. I wondered if she was dropped too many times as a child. Certainly she had suffered some kind of trauma. Edward started laughing at me from his seat by Emmett.

"Why're you here anyway, is wedding talk your new hobby?" she continued.

"Nah, Alice wanted me to stick around. You know, to keep things in line. Because that Jasper's _such_ a wild child."

Alice and Rosalie entered, each carrying armfuls of items. I saw fabric samples, color swatches, magazines and all other sorts of horrendous things. Rose put hers down and sat beside me so Amanda and I were sandwiched between her and Emmett.

"In case one of you decides to bolt," Alice explained, as if sensing my curiosity. "I foresaw _someone_ trying to pull that."

She glowered at me and I laughed.

"Can we just get this over with?" Amanda groaned.

"Why, yes, we can!" Alice chirped. She pulled out fabric samples and lectured about how that particular shade of red, since it was Amanda's favorite, would work well as an accent color, and how another kind of flower would complement it. I zoned out after about a few minutes when she started talking about the cake. The visual texture of a wedding cake didn't excite me.

"Do either of you have a clue about the date?" Alice asked again.

Amanda and I shook our heads.

Alice groaned in frustration. "Amanda, Jasper made me swear that I wouldn't make you feel guilty about not wanting a massive wedding and all, but please let me do something tasteful!!! _Pleeeeeaaaase_!! It can just be for, like, a dozen people or whatever, but just let me do it! The graduation party tomorrow night's put me in the party planning mood!"

She paused to catch her breath. "It would be so much more memorable than eloping…like _someone_ had suggested."

Amanda elbowed me in the ribs.

"And someone _else_ thought it was a good idea." Alice glared at the pair of us.

I nudged Amanda lightly in the ribs, trying my best not to cause any damage.

"Emmett doing the ceremony?" Alice wailed. "How could you even suggest such a thing?!"

Everyone but Alice started to laugh.

"It's not funny!" she nearly shrieked, being a touch overdramatic.

"I'll do it!!" Emmett declared. He was suddenly very enthusiastic.

"Oh, no you won't!" Alice argued, hands on her hips.

"Alright, Alice," Rose began, "I think you've done enough damage. Give them some time to recover." She helped Alice pick up her visual aids and take them back upstairs.

Amanda laid her forehead on my shoulder and rocked her head from side to side.

"She's crazy," Amanda muttered.

"I know," I assured her. "It wasn't that bad, though. I was braced for worse."

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"Not really, no," I smiled.

"You suck." She lifted her head off my shoulder.

"Well I know girl talk when I hear it," Emmett said and darted out of the room.

"Your eyes are dark," Amanda pointed out randomly.

"It's been awhile," I explained. "Nearly three weeks. I was thinking about a quick hunt tonight. If it won't bother you."

"Go for it. I think I can manage to be alone for a few hours. Quit worrying so much, if something were to happen, one of them could be at my house in like 4 seconds."

"How can you tell I'm worried?" I asked. I'd been trying my damnedest to keep it to myself, hoping it would go under everyone's radar.

"You're voice changes. You talk slightly slower, like you're trying to filter your words."

"You noticed _that_?"

"I'm observant sometimes!" she smiled at me. "It comes in phases. You shouldn't talk, you're the one with vampire ADD!"

"True, I'm pretty bad about that, it's annoyin-hey, is that a pony?!" I smiled broadly, emphasizing the point.

Bella trooped down the stairs and went into the kitchen, but not without scowling in the direction of the wedding magazines Alice had left lying about. It didn't take me to tell Amanda that she was less than thrilled.

"Uh oh," Amanda said lowly.

I hopped to my feet, the heels of my cowboy boots clanged dully against the hardwood floors. I took her hand and led her outside. I didn't want Bella's irritation to bother Amanda. It wasn't Amanda's fault that she and Edward didn't see eye to eye on things…_a lot_ of things.

"You're afraid to be around Bella, aren't you?" she asked quietly, leaning against the porch railing.

I nodded. "Just being cautious, probably overly so. She thinks I don't like her, which isn't true, but I don't trust myself around Bella for too long."

"There's nothing wrong with being careful."

"It hurts her feelings. But her feelings would be hurt worse if I killed her, I guess."

"You could say that. You can't be so afraid of yourself, you haven't hurt a person in what, ten years?"

"Not for lack of trying," I muttered grimly.

"But you still didn't. Relax a little, Jasper. You're not nearly the monster you think you are," she tried to reassure me.

"I'm just afraid of…returning to what I used to be. Especially now, because I'm finally happy. I have a family, but most importantly I have you. And if I have one miniscule slip up then all this is ruined. I could hurt _you_, just from the carelessness of one second. If Bella were to get hurt and you were in the room it might be too much for me."

Amanda didn't say anything, but just eyed me from her seat on the railing.

"I don't know what to tell you," she said finally.

"I know." I leaned against the rail beside her. She wasn't even slightly afraid being so close to me after what I had just told her. Her eyes met my gaze.

"Go hunt," she sighed, waiving a hand at the woods. "You won't relax until you do."

"I'll make it quick, I'll be back in a few hours," I promised. I handed her the car keys that had been in my pocket. "In case you get ambushed."

She laughed and took them from me. "Beat it, Whitlock."

"Yes ma'am," I said and leaned in and kissed her. Then I leaped over the railing and made a mad dash into the forest.

*Amanda's POV*

I watched Jasper disappear into the woods. I felt bad that he was so worried and afraid of himself, but I didn't know how to help him. I slid the Mustang's keys into my pocket, I figured there was a good chance I'd have to use them later. I hopped off the railing and went back inside to find Bella in the living room.

"I'm sorry," Bella said as I sat down in the chair that was usually occupied by Emmett.

"For what?"

"For making Jasper so uneasy. I know it's because of me that he left just now."

"It's not just you," I explained. "He worries too much about everything, it's his nature, I guess. He's too hard on himself."

"He is," she agreed. "So you're really getting married?"

"Looks like it," I smiled. That was still a new concept for me.

"How's that going to…work? Is he gonna get Carlisle to change you?"

I shook my head. "Nope, nothing like that. Unless there's a plot that I'm not aware of. I don't really want to be a vampire, or at least not anytime soon. Some aspects of it would be awesome, like being with Jasper for, literally, forever, but some wouldn't."

Bella looked flabbergasted. "But what'll happen when you get old and eventually die? Jasper would have eternity to live with the grief."

"I don't know, I haven't thought that far ahead. We've only been engaged like 12 hours!" I laughed, once again reverting to my stupid habit of throwing something funny into a serious conversation.

"You've never even _considered_ becoming a vampire?" Bella was staring at me like I had grown a second head that had started yodeling.

"Not really. I don't think I'm mature enough to make that kind of decision."

Oops. I hoped that didn't hurt her feelings. Maybe it didn't, but if it did she can suck it up, she's a big girl. But she just nodded and looked down thoughtfully.

Edward appeared at the base of the stairs and was instantly beside Bella.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded and headed to the door, after saying bye to me.

"Thank you," Edward said quietly as he walked by me. I didn't know what that was about, I'd have to ask Jasper later.

I went in the kitchen and made a sandwich. Someone had to eat all this food they kept around. After devouring my lunch, I headed upstairs to Jasper's room. I didn't know why I was there, but it was a comforting place to be.

I sat on the bed and looked around. I'd been in there a thousand times, but I never got over the sense of calm I got from being there. I don't think Jasper realized how much I loved him and needed him. I glanced around the slightly disheveled room and wondered what it was like to be Jasper…if this room was comforting to him or a prison.

A slight knock on the door snapped me out of my mental daze.

"Can I come in?" Rosalie asked softly, cracking the door slightly.

"Sure."

She soundlessly drifted in and sat beside me. "Thank you," she said simply.

"For what?" I asked. Maybe she'd explain why everyone was thanking me.

"You were so blunt with Bella, she needed to hear that. Maybe someone her own age will be more effective than I was when I talked to her."

I nodded, understanding what Edward had meant. We lapsed into silence for a moment.

"You've been so good for Jasper," Rose said softly, almost wistfully.

"Everyone says that, but I don't understand it. How could I have possibly helped him? Sometimes I feel I'm making him harder on himself."

"You've brought him out of the shell he'd buried himself in for all of the sixty years I've known him," she said with a smile. "I saw the two of you fooling around before school this morning and he was like a different person. It's amazing."

I shrugged. I didn't think I'd made that much of a difference. I'm just boring me, I don't have the power to move mountains or morph brooding vampires into snuggly teddy bears.

"You're so modest," Alice chirped. I jumped as she appeared out of nowhere and daintily sat on the bed, too.

"Yay, a pow-wow!" Emmett yelled and plowed into the room and dove onto the bed.

I smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"Gah, you're so violent!!" he declared dramatically.

"That's for not letting me drive the Hummer! It was my suggestion, I should get a crack at it!" I whined.

"But you'll break it!!" he argued. I stuck my tongue out at him. I'm so mature.

"You need to get going," Alice said, turning to me. "We have to start setting up for the party tomorrow!!"

I agreed to go quietly, Alice walked me downstairs. She gave me a hug before I got into the car, then hurried back inside.

I sighed as I drove home. The Mustang was an awesome car, but it wasn't the same without Jasper. Possibly because I couldn't drive like a lunatic and survive. I hoped he hurried back, I got bored easily without him around.

I slowed down for a red light, the only one in town, and nearly had a heart attack as the passenger door flung open and the object of my affection appeared beside me.

"Speak of the devil," I laughed.

"Miss me?" he asked as he slouched in the seat.

"You know it." I glanced over at him before the light changed again. "You smell…woodsy."

He rolled his eyes and laughed at me as I turned onto my street.


	23. Chapter 23

I drove aimlessly around town for awhile to give Amanda time to eat dinner with Lillian. I knew I was welcome to stay, but I was running out of excuses not to eat. Amanda came up with a few but telling her grandmother that I was a vampire would be more believable. A fruitarian? Why would I be one of those, even if I needed to eat?!

I strummed my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. I _always_ got stopped at the only red light in town. Sadly, I can't manipulate machinery. Eventually it turned green and I sped back home to ditch the Mustang. The poor car whined in protest at my violent acceleration.

I slammed it into park in the garage and eyed the motorcycle that Edward had given me. I decided to ride it to Amanda's since I could hide it more easily than a car. And it was more fun than a car. I should give Amanda a ride; she'd like it…the adrenaline junkie.

The only upside to living in Forks is that, with the way I drive, I could be at her house in less than three minutes. Two minutes on good days when that damned light didn't stop me. I parked the motorcycle behind some shrubbery so Lillian wouldn't see. I could sense Amanda was on the roof, so I hoisted myself up the tree and onto the roof.

Amanda didn't hear me, she was sitting under the awning we spent so much time under with an acoustic guitar and a beer. She picked at the guitar absentmindedly and I smile crept to my lips as I silently crept up beside her.

"You know, underage drinking and rooftops might not mix well," I smirked.

She shrugged. "Only if I fall off." Her mood was unreadable. She wasn't upset, or happy. Just kind of there, her mind was a million miles away. I had clearly snapped her out of a daze.

"I didn't know you play the guitar."

"That's because I don't," she laughed, coming back to reality. "I like to hold it and pluck a string or two and pretend I'm actually playing. Edward offered to give me some lessons when this whole…episode's over."

She laid the guitar gently down on the roof and took a swig of beer.

"Beer was better in my day," I quipped. "Before there were health regulations and alcohol limits… and before moonshine was illegal."

She held the bottle out to me to offer me some. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm just trying to be polite!!" She really wasn't any good at trying to act offended because she always ended up cracking a smile.

"How's the motorcycle?"

"Marvelous. Do you want a ride?"

"Can I drive part of the way?" She was suddenly very excited.

"Once we get out of town," I agreed, her excitement seeping into me.

She swallowed the rest of her drink and gently set the guitar on the floor in her room. She shut the window and smiled widely.

"That's another upside to living with grandparents, they go to bed at like 7:00! Not that it matters, for some reason Grandma's under the impression you're a responsible young lad. Which might be your own doing."

I shrugged guiltily. Lillian did like me, but sometimes I…aided it. I scooped Amanda up and gingerly stepped right off the roof. The ground seemed to take forever to come up and meet my feet. I landed gracefully, neither one of us jolted by the impact. I dashed over to the bush where the bike was. I set Amanda down, leapt on the bike and cranked it in one fluid motion.

"You and your superb coordination," she scowled.

"You ready?"

She grinned and hopped on behind me. I took her arms and put them securely around my waist. I knew she wouldn't fall off, but I liked having her close. She rested her chin on my shoulder. Sitting down like this was the only time we were remotely close to the same height….standing up I had a good seven inches or so on her. She kissed my neck as we tore out onto the road.

"We're so badass!!" she laughed. I laughed with her and concentrated on enjoying the moment. There wasn't a reason to think about anything that wasn't right here, right now.

"Stop worrying," she said playfully, but sternly as we sat at that same stupid traffic light.

"How can you tell?"

"You tense up. You're not nearly as reticent as you think you are."

"You're more observant than _you_ think you are," I argued. No one else, even my family, had my mannerisms figured out so well.

"I know, for instance, my keen observation has noted that approximately a fourth of the city's population is staring at us right now."

"Well, let's give them something to stare at," I chuckled before I turned my upper body around and kissed her. I could feel the waves of reaction from our "audience." Some bewilderment, some surprise, some…jealousy that radiated from a throng of teenage boys. That irked me, they had had their chance with her and they ignored Amanda's existence. I quickly made myself quit dwelling on it.

"I think they might want an encore," Amanda laughed as we sped away.

"We have to save some for later. Remember, _one_ of us has to breathe."

She smacked me on the shoulder. We lapsed into comfortable silence as the unusually warm air whipped around us. I could feel her heartbeat into my back, its steady rhythm was reassuring to me.

Once we were out of Forks I pulled off the road.

"What're you doing?" she asked as I swung my leg off the motorcycle.

"I said I'd let you drive, you didn't believe me?" I stuck my bottom lip out like she did when she wanted to look pitiful. On her it was more convincing.

She slid forward on the bike with a gleeful smile.

"Do you know where everything is?" I asked as I hopped on behind her.

"Got it," she said and started the bike. I lightly put my arms around her waist, not to keep me on the machine, but just to touch her.

She skillfully maneuvered back onto the deserted road and smoothly shifted gears. I was impressed; I had been expecting this to be more of a learning experience for her. Clearly I was wrong. After a moment of observing her skill with the bike I fully relaxed. I hadn't been worried before, if something were to have happened I could've reacted faster than it occurred. My fiancé had many talents, who knew motorcycles were one of them?

She began to slow down and pull off the road after awhile.

"Tired?" I asked.

"Nah, I can't see well anymore, it's getting too dark. Remember, _one_ of us doesn't have night vision," she mocked me from earlier.

I chuckled and slid up closer to the handlebars before she could get off. I gripped them and began to drive us back with Amanda still sitting in front of me.

"Show off," she laughed.

I shrugged and kissed her cheek.

"Are you excited for graduation or do you even care anymore?" she inquired, relaxing into my chest.

"This time I care," I answered. "Besides, going off to college is always a nice change of pace; the atmosphere is so much more tolerable and there's more freedom. You'll enjoy it. Plus, you don't have to have morning classes."

We were both excited for Cornell to start in the fall. She was going into art history and I was going into philosophy. I imagined that, like the ultimate nerd couple, we'd spend hours in the library pouring over books no one had opened in a decade.

Amanda was completely relaxed. Somehow she had managed to bring her legs up and sit Indian style and lean back against me on the motorcycle. I was impressed by her coordination and balance to maintain the pose.

Sometimes I still didn't understand how she could be so at ease around me with the knowledge that I could slaughter her at any minute lurking in the back of her mind. She trusted me more than I did. The more I was with her the less I thought of myself as a bloodsucking monster, but still not quite a person. I felt like a hybrid of the two.

"Ya know what?" she spouted randomly after a few minutes of silence. Once again we were sitting at the stupid traffic light, only this time the audience had gone inside.

"What?"

"I love you."

"And I love you. More than I ever thought it was possible to love anything."

"Aaaw, you're sweet!" she gushed. I always picked up on a hint of surprise from her whenever I said things like that.

I switched the motorcycle off and silently hid it behind the shrubs again in front of Amanda's house. She got off the bike and stretched.

"I'm too old to sit still for long without gettin' stiff," she laughed. "But look who I'm telling this to!"

I stuck my tongue out at her before swinging her up onto my back and darting up to the roof. I opened the window, bounded inside, and set her on the bed the same gesture.

"You're getting good at this," she laughed as I shut the window quietly.

"An acquired skill," I explained and lay down on my back on the bed. "What's that?" I gestured to a box sitting atop her desk.

"Oh. Uh, some of…Grandpa's things." I could nearly hear her close up.

I nodded, but decided to go out on a limb and ask a question. "Why don't you like to talk about him?"

"It doesn't change anything, he's still dead and there's nothing I can do or any amount of conversation that can fix it. Talking about him in past tense hurts. So I don't."

I nodded and decided not to press it. She didn't talk about any of her family who had died, I'd only heard her mention her parents a handful of times, clearly she didn't deal with death well at all. Lillian was right to have been so worried about her at the funeral.

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "No interrogation?"

"No, do whatever it is you need to do to cope. But I can help, in any way you need." I added.

"I know, but I know you don't like to seriously mess with people."

She lay down beside me and picked up a book that had been discarded on the bedside table. She flipped through it inattentively; we both knew it was just an aversion so she didn't have to talk anymore.

"Ugh, mummies," she murmured and flipped the page rapidly. She must have sensed my curious gaze because she added, "I hate dead bodies. They're the only thing that really freaks me out."

I couldn't stifle my laughter.

"Ironic, isn't it?" she mused before yawning.

"Go to sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow, with graduation then Alice's party. The dead body will still be here when you wake up." I pushed her bangs out of her eyes with my fingertips.

"You're not technically dead," she argued and curled up next to me. I put my arm under her head.

"No heartbeat, no pulse, no blood, and no functioning organs equals _dead_."

"But you still breathe!!"

"But I don't _have_ to. It's just a habit, like blinking. Can't I be right just this once?!" I chuckled.

"Fine," she grinned sleepily. "Jasper: 1, Amanda: 9 trillion."

"That score sounds about right. But I think I've got 2 points, I was right about something else once. I forgot what, though."

"Meh, I guess I can allow you an extra point. It doesn't look like you're really in the game anymore."

We lapsed into silence for a few minutes and she dozed off. I stared at the ceiling and made patterns with the lines. Amanda didn't like it when I stared at her, it creeped her out, so I refrained.

She shivered in her sleep and I instantly felt guilty…I should have remembered I was freezing. I pulled the blanket up around her and tucked it in between her body and mine. Her ring glittered up at me. I wondered if she was as bewildered by us as I was.

In what seemed like no time at all I could hear Lillian in the kitchen downstairs. My assumption that she was cooking breakfast was soon confirmed by the smells wafting upstairs. I wrinkled my nose…there were some aspects of humanity I didn't miss that much. Human food was pretty gross.

As if sensing the time to wake up might be near, Amanda groaned and buried her face in my shoulder. I chuckled and kissed her forehead. The coldness of my lips must have startled her because her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Mrmph." She was always so articulate in the morning.

I could hear Lillian starting up the stairs, so I slid out of bed and quietly slipped outside to the roof. Loveable as the old woman was, I didn't think finding me in her granddaughter's bed would really help our relationship.

I could still see into Amanda's bedroom from my hiding perch on the roof. She pulled the blankets up over her head as if to hide from the stray rays of sun leaking in through the window. Her door opened and Lillian popped her head in and asked if Amanda wanted any breakfast.

**Amanda's POV

I sat up and groggily pondered if breakfast was more worthwhile than sleep. I decided to go with breakfast. Homemade food was more pleasant to wake up to than an alarm clock.

I slid across the bed, noting that where Jasper had been was significantly colder than my side, and dragged myself to the door. I swore when I kicked the door, I hadn't noticed Grandma had closed it behind her. I heard Jasper's soft chuckle come from somewhere close to the window. I chose to ignore him…it was too early to think of a witty reply.

I helped myself to some pancakes in the kitchen and sat at the table across from Grandma, who was perusing the newspaper. I didn't understand why old people were so up on the morning paper. It's just as well, I don't talk in the morning anyway.

"Did Jasper give you that ring?" Grandma asked randomly, gesturing to my hand.

"Yep." I glanced down at the ring. I had taken to wearing it on my middle finger rather than the ring finger when I was around her. I wasn't sure how she'd react to the whole engagement thing and didn't want an ordeal.

"Aren't you wearing it on the wrong finger?"

I choked on my orange juice. I was suddenly very awake. "_What_?"

"Shouldn't it be on your ring finger? Unless you're trying to start a new fad with wearing engagement rings on the wrong finger," she smiled knowingly at me over the paper.

My eyes widened and I searched deep in the recesses of my mind for a reply.

"How did you know?" I spluttered. Lame, but it was the best I could come up with.

"He asked my permission."

"_He what_?!!?" It's a good thing I wasn't taking a sip of juice this time or I'd most definitely have choked and gone into a coma from lack of oxygen.

Grandma smiled. "He's rather old fashioned to be so young. I was hesitant to agree but he stressed that he was in no hurry. He said he wanted the two of you to finish college first…nothing too sudden. So I agreed. He's been good for you, especially lately."

I suddenly felt guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't know how you'd…yeah." Talk about a pathetic excuse.

"I might be upset if I hadn't known to begin with. It was pretty funny to watch you try and hide it for the past week, though."

I wondered what Jasper was thinking from upstairs. He was probably pretty entertained.

Grandma collected her dishes and took them to the sink. She still had that knowing smile. "Is my son-in-law going to come by before graduation?"

I made a strange face at her use of the term "son-in-law." If only she knew her son-in-law was right upstairs and had been all night. What a responsible young lad, indeed.

"Um, I'm not sure. He might be."

Jasper…son-in-law… I still couldn't get over it; it was too strange coming from her mouth. Of course Jasper and future husband was still odd for me to accept, but I was getting there.

"By the way, you're pictures were ready so I picked them up," she said and handed me an envelope.

I thanked her amidst a mouthful of pancakes and opened them. I had totally forgotten about the pictures I took the day he proposed. I flipped through them. Some were random nature shots and some were of Jasper.

"Aw, he looks so nervous!" Grandma laughed. I hadn't realized she was peering at them over my shoulder. "That must have been before he asked you." She flipped to another picture. "He should pass on college and be a movie star, he's got the brooding look down pat." (A/N: I think Bella said something like that in one of the books…I'm too lazy to figure out which)

She moseyed out of the room and I finished eating. I dumped my dishes in the sink and dashed upstairs. Jasper was seated on the window sill, waiting for me.

I glared at him, but he knew it wasn't in anger. "I can't believe you did that."

"I wanted to do it right!" he smiled in defense.

"Crazy old man," I mumbled, hopping up into his lap.

He kissed my cheek in response.

"So is son-in-law Jasper gonna stop by later?"

"I was planning on it. I'd like to be able to see you legally. And Lillian'll want to congratulate us," he answered, a grin spreading across his face. "You're funny when you freak out in the morning."

"Shut up!" I whined and buried my face in my hands. "I wouldn't have spazzed if you wouldn't be so ridiculously old fashioned!!"

"It's a curse, I'm afraid," he laughed quietly and rested his chin on top of my head.

I could feel him abruptly tense and wondered why.

"Bella's anxiety radiates unbelievably well," he explained before I could ask.

"Why's she nervous?" I asked. "She's not the one who has to walk across the stage in front of all those people and not trip or do anything stupid!"

"She's worried about the party tonight, I'm not sure why."

"Has Alice seen anything new?" I felt like this was a game of 20 questions.

"Not that I know of. Whoever's behind this is being amazingly meticulous to keep their plans a mystery."

"I bet that's irritating." I was so wise.

"Remarkably," he sighed.


	24. Chapter 24

"How does it feel to be an alumnus?" Jasper asked as he held the car door open for me.

"Liberating. I'm just glad I didn't trip," I answered. "But I'm sure it's all old for you by now. What's this, like your fifteenth time around?"

He scrunched his face up and I laughed. "I can't remember. Something like that, anyway. I'll have to ask Esme, I imagine she keeps track of it."

I couldn't think of a witty reply so I sat in a silent stupor and gazed out the window.

"Ha!" he exclaimed randomly. My perplexed expression prompted him to explain. "I win! I SO have three points now!"

I snorted in laughter. "Yeah, the score's getting _really_ close now…your three to my seven trillion. Way to go, Jasper!"

He smiled smugly and swung the car into the Cullen's long, wooded driveway. Lights had been strung up in the trees. It reeked of Alice. I imagined that Bella would die when she saw it.

"You guys have way too much free time," I commented.

"You'd be amazed at how much not sleeping frees up our schedules."

He flitted around the car and opened my door. I knew it was just a time period thing, but it still kind of irked me he was constantly doing things like that. I didn't like feeling dependant. But some girls had significant others who didn't acknowledge their existence, so I guessed I couldn't complain.

None of the kids from school had arrived yet, only the usual occupants were inside the Cullen house. I didn't understand why on earth Alice wanted to throw this party; I knew I wouldn't want those people anywhere near where I lived. And the four of us who had graduated didn't care celebrating it one bit. I figured it was mainly for Bella…who also didn't want the party, but was really too polite to seriously object. Alice would pounce on any reason to decorate.

"Amanda! I need you to sample the food!" Alice chirped the second I was in the door. The nightclub-esque scene that used to be the living room turned into a blur as Alice whisked me away from Jasper and to a long table covered in food.

"Don't you already know?"

"And why would I eat _this_?" Alice feigned disgust as I sampled the snacks.

"No, I mean, wouldn't you know if people wouldn't like it?" I elaborated.

Gah, you'd think the fortune teller could at least see what I meant. Edward snorted from across the room. Jasper rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"It's all good to me, Alice," I informed her while I snacked on a mini quesadilla thing. As if she needed my telling her that. I crossed the room to stand by the wall with Jasper.

Edward groaned and glared in our general direction. "Jasper wants to talk to you. There, now she knows and you can quit dwelling over it!" Edward flailed his arms exasperatedly to emphasize the point.

I quirked an eyebrow at Jasper, who was too busy glaring at his brother to notice.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Edward said, going back to his book.

Jasper smirked and looked pleased with himself before taking my hand and leading me up the stairs. I had begun to worry a little, maybe one of those relationship talks were coming where the other person tries to tactfully say they completely loathe the other person.

"It's nothing like that," Jasper soothed in his quiet voice as he shut the door to his room behind us.

I still couldn't quell my anxiousness as I tensely stood by his desk.

"So…?" I asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Will you calm down, it's nothing horrific," he smiled slightly. "I swear, your mood swings are catastrophic."

I glared at him. He was stalling. And doing a pretty good job.

He sat on the bed and motioned for me to join him, which I did. Then he stood up and began to pace in a small circle. He took a deep breath, which I found ironic, even in spite of the anxiety.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" I asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Er, no." He gave me a look that clearly said he thought I was a lunatic.

I shrugged.

He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a small box. I was curious about what it contained; I already had an engagement ring. I hoped it wasn't a severed body part. Kind of like how the cat dragged dead rats home and left them on the porch thinking they were presents for us. But I didn't think Jasper would see a finger or something as a gift. Or at least not until closer to Halloween, anyway.

"It was my mother's," he explained quietly and handed me the box. He sat beside me and I gingerly pulled the lid off. Inside was a delicate silver chain with a petite amethyst in a teardrop-like shape.

"It's beautiful," I smiled at him.

Jasper held my hair up with one hand and clasped the necklace around my neck with the other. He kissed my cheek before letting my hair fall back down.

"Why were you so nervous about this? You knew I'd love it."

"It was my mother's," he said again. "It brings up…memories. Alice ran across a box of my things a few weeks ago that I had thrown in there because I didn't want to deal with it, and persuaded me to go through it. To be so little she's really quite convincing. Doing so I remembered things about being human that I had forgotten. I remembered seeing my mother wear this necklace all the time, a memory that I had completely lost.

"I almost threw the whole box out. Over the years I've developed a natural habit of avoiding thinking about my human past because it hurt… it reminded me that I shouldn't be here now. But I realized, after I found the necklace, that it doesn't hurt anymore to remember and I don't think I'm a terrible blood sucking monster. Maybe I do deserve to live after all. And it's because of you."

"I'm just glad I could do something for you," I mumbled. I was almost speechless.

"I'm sorry it took so long to get it to you, I took it to a jeweler's to get cleaned and it took forever," he rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. "Damn mortals."

"Thank you," I smiled and glided a finger over the chain.

"My pleasure." He looked thoughtful for a second. "My little speech didn't sound too corny, did it? I was worried I'd mess it up, it sounded good in my head."

I snorted in laughter and assured him it was fine before leaning up to kiss him, only to be interrupted by Emmett's burst into the room.

"Emmett!" I glowered. "You ruined our moment!"

"At least someone's scoring around here!!!!" he grinned and appeared abnormally victorious. Jasper and I shot him revolted expressions. Way too much information.

"Anyway, people are starting to get here and Alice wants Amanda to come down and "mingle" or something," he continued, putting finger quotes around the word mingle.

I reluctantly followed him to the doorway. I still wasn't up for the idea of a party, but I could go peaceably or Emmett could drag me downstairs. Talk about a grand entrance.

"You're not coming?" I asked, turning to see Jasper's lack of movement.

"I'll stay up here awhile longer."

I didn't ask why, he had his reasons, although I was curious.

Luckily Bella had arrived a bit before I came in, so she was the center of attention. People clustered around her and chatted excitedly…probably asking about her cast. Edward and Jasper were gathered in a corner and looked deep in discussion. Neither of them looked happy and I assumed it was about the newborns. Emmett was standing by the food table so I went to join him.

I smacked him on the arm as soon as I was in arm's length of him.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he knowingly overreacted. Drama queen.

"First off, there's _no_ way that hurt you, and second it's for ruining my moment!" I pretended to be upset.

"You're such a weird little person." Emmett shook his head.

"Right, because you're _so_ normal."

I saw Mike Newton eavesdropping on our conversation out of the corner of my eye. Emmett smiled at him and Mike got a freaked out expression and quickly piled his plate with food and dashed off.

As soon as he was gone, Emmett and I busted into laughter.

"You can't be mad at me, I'm your favorite big brother!" he exclaimed and engulfed me in a bear hug.

"Besides," he muttered while I was still crushed to him, "who else can scare off little dorks just like that?!"

I continued my laughing fit as soon as he released me and I could breathe again. "So true, yet another reason why you're my favorite brother. Even if you never let me drive the Hummer. If Edward had a Hummer he'd let me drive it!"

"Now you're just being silly."

"But you _promised_!" I whined.

Alice sauntered down the stairs and weaved gracefully through the crowd to me. "We have to talk," she said urgently and took my wrist in her tiny hand. She led me over to where Bella was congregated with three huge guys.

"Ugh, werewolves," Alice groaned. So these were the wolves I'd heard so much about. For all the hoopla about them I had always felt gypped that I never got to see them.

"I need to talk to you," she murmured to Bella, ignoring the three guys…wolves…whatever.

"Er, Jake, I'll see you later," Bella mumbled as I turned to leave, followed by Bella and Alice.

"Hey, not so fast," the guy in front said. Apparently he was the Jacob I'd heard so much about. He tossed his arm out in front of me and Alice and braced his hand against the wall to block our passing.

"_Excuse_ me?" Alice asked, glaring up at him. I quirked an eyebrow. I'd never seen Alice mad, this could get interesting.

Quite suddenly, Jasper appeared on the other side of Jacob's arm. It was the only time I'd ever seen him actually look scary…like a vampire. If looks could have killed, Jacob would be six feet under already. Jacob lowered his arm, he seemed fond of the idea of keeping it. Jasper closed the gap between us, still glaring daggers at Jacob.

"Looks like the bloodsuckers snagged another one," he said, gesturing to me. I rolled my eyes, Jasper continued to glare.

"Let's go," Alice commanded in a stern voice I'd never heard from her before.

"We have a right to know what's going on," Jacob insisted, shifting his glare to Alice. Jasper stepped in front of the three of us, never taking his eyes of Jacob. The three wolves tensed.

"Hey, hey," Bella said with a bizarre chuckle. "This is a party, remember?"

No one listened to her. Jacob continued glaring at Alice, seemingly oblivious to being stared down by Jasper. All this tension was giving me a headache, I could only imagine how it felt to Jasper.

"It's okay, Jasper. He actually has a point," Alice quipped suddenly and looked thoughtful. Jasper didn't look convinced and didn't relax his position.

"What did you see, Alice?" Bella asked, looking nervous.

Alice pulled Bella in closer so the four of us made a loose circle. Apparently she had decided to let the wolves hear. "The decision's been made."

"You're going to Seattle?" Bella asked.

"No."

What little pigment that had been in Bella's face was gone, she looked horrified. Jasper took a subconscious step closer to me.

"They're coming here," Bella said quietly, almost in disbelief.

"Yes," Alice confirmed.

"To Forks."

"Yes."

"For?"

"One carried your red shirt," Alice explained.

Jasper looked…disapproving, I knew he didn't like talking about this in front of the wolves. "We can't let them come that far. There aren't enough of us to protect the town."

"I know," Alice said, disheartened. "But it won't matter where we stop them. There still won't be enough of us, some of them will come here to search."

"No!" Bella whispered. "Alice, I have to go. I have to get away from here."

"That won't help," Alice argued. "It's not like we're dealing with a tracker. They'll still come looking here first."

"Then I have to go meet them! If they find what they're looking for, maybe they'll go away and not hurt anyone else!" Bella insisted, earning bewildered stares from all of us.

"Bella!" Alice protested.

"Hold it," Jacob said. "_What_ is coming?"

"Our kind. Lots of them," Alice explained curtly.

"Why?"

"For Bella. That's all we know."

"There are too many for you?"

"We have a few advantages, dog," Jasper said lowly and dangerously. "It will be an even fight."

"No, it won't be _even_," Jacob smiled.

"Excellent!" Alice hissed, looking hopeful for the first time in this discussion. "Everything just disappeared, of course. That's inconvenient, but, all things considered, I'll take it."

"We'll have to coordinate," Jacob continued. He was pretty annoying. I didn't think I liked him. "It won't be easy for us. Still, this is more our job than yours."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Bella interrupted. "Coordinate?"

Bella and Jacob argued for a moment, Jacob anxious to fight and Bella anxious for him not to. Alice joined in and I zoned out for a moment, lost in my own thoughts. Jasper sensed my mounting worry and took my hand. I felt instantly calmer as they discussed meeting.

"Later tonight?" Jacob asked.

"Yes," Jasper agreed. " We were already planning a…strategic meeting. If you're going to fight with us you'll need some instruction."

"No!" Bella groaned. Everyone ignored her.

"This will be odd," Jasper mused, "I never considered working together. This has got to be a first."

"No doubt about that," Jacob continued. "We've got to get back to Sam. What time?"

"What's too late for you?"

The three wolves snorted. "What time?" he repeated.

"Three o'clock?"

"Where?"

Jasper explained where the meadow was.

"We'll be there," Jacob said and the three turned to leave.

As Jasper led me away upstairs I heard Bella faintly pleading for Jacob to reconsider.

He shut the door once we were in his room and began to rummage around in the pile of clothes on the floor. I always bothered him about having all the time in the world to organize and he still used the floor as a shelf. But now didn't seem the time, he was too worried.

"Here," he said, thrusting an envelope into my hands. I opened it and read the stub of paper inside. A plane ticket. To Canada. My eyes widened and I looked at him nervously, expecting a hell of an explanation.

"In case things go…badly," he said somberly. He pulled out his wallet and removed a few papers and a credit card, then handed them to me along with the car keys. "Keep all this with you until everything's over. I want you to be able to make a quick getaway."

I was suddenly terrifyingly anxious. Did he not think he was coming back? I glanced down at the papers. Fake IDs. He had had my last name changed, to match his on the credit card. Amanda Hale.

"So you won't have any problems and can get anything you need," he explained quietly and sat beside me on the bed. I buried my face in his shoulder and fought back the urge to burst into tears. He didn't really think he was going to die, did he?

He wrapped an arm around me and smoothed my hair. "Don't worry; I'm expecting it all to go fine. Or as fine as it can go, anyway. I just want to…cover all the bases. Alice can't see now and I can't risk anything happening to you. Canada's close enough that I can be there relatively fast if you need me, but still far enough that the newborns won't follow."

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. "Where will I be during the…fight?"

"I don't know yet," he confessed quietly. "You can't stay here, or at your house either. The safest thing would be to take you somewhere far out in the mountains, but you can't be left there alone…just in case. I can't stay with you, I want to but they need me too much. I don't know what's going to happen."

He was trying to hide it, but his features gave away his desperation.

Oooh, another cliffhanger!! Sorry the update took so long, I've been swamped with school. And I admit I quoted a bit from 'Eclipse' because I didn't wanna rewrite that whole conversation, so don't sue me and we'll all be happy.


	25. Chapter 25

"I think you'll calm down when you see us practice fighting," Jasper tried to soothe as I slid off of his back in the meadow. "It's really quite cool; you'll see there's nothing for you to be anxious about."

I desperately hoped he was right. I was incredibly worried but was trying to hold it together. The Cullens had enough to worry about without me having a nervous breakdown and being a distraction. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping composed, I didn't think anyone knew how panicked I really was…except for Jasper, obviously, and Edward, who kept casting concerned glances my way.

"Hey, Edward," Emmett greeted. "Hey, Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?"

Edward scowled. "Please, Emmett, don't give her any ideas."

Emmett looked my way. "Well, I _know_ Jasper's gonna let Amanda practice, she'd be fierce out there!"

Jasper stopped stretching his arms and glared. "Not a chance."

The werewolves had come up to the edge of the meadow and Carlisle stepped forward. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper scowl discreetly. Earlier I had asked him why he disliked the wolves so much, he said he didn't entirely trust them. I didn't really get it, from what I'd heard the wolves had never overstepped their boundaries or anything, but Jasper was allowed his opinions. If all of them were obnoxious like Jacob he had a good reason to loathe them.

"Go stay with Esme and Alice," he instructed quietly and gave my hand a squeeze before dropping it. I moved back the few paces to stand between Esme and Edward. The relaxed and informal circle we'd been standing in morphed into a loose line with Jasper and Emmett in the center.

Edward and Alice were talking about something…the wolves had been holding out or something. Apparently there were more of them now. I couldn't really pay attention; my eyes were glued to Jasper's back. Esme put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"The pack has grown," Edward muttered to Bella, intentionally loud enough for me to overhear. I had to take his word for it; I could barely see the sparkling eyes of the wolves. There could be ten or ten thousand and I'd be none the wiser.

Edward chuckled softly beside me. I looked at him curiously. "Remind me to thank you later," he said before averting his attention back to the scene in front of us. Bella and I exchanged confused looks.

"Welcome," Carlisle greeted the wolves.

"Thank you," Edward responded in a creepy, flat tone. He must have been translating. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self control."

"That is more than enough," Carlisle answered, gesturing to Jasper who looked incredibly tense, but ready. "My son Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."

"They are different from you?"

"They are all very new-only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you- it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. They new ones fight amongst themselves."

"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," Edward continued.

"We'll see how it plays out," Carlisle grinned. Then he answered when the newborns would be arriving.

A second later, Jasper took a step forward. He glanced at Edward, who nodded, and then at me before turning his back to the wolves. It was obvious to me that he didn't like this one bit and was doing his best to fervently ignore the audience behind him.

"Carlisle's right. They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?"

Emmett grinned and stepped forward.

"Okay, Emmett first," Jasper said as he backed up. "He's the best example of a newborn attack."

"I'll _try_ not to break anything," Emmett snarled.

"What I meant is that Emmett relies on his strength. He's very straightforward about the attack. The newborns won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett." He backed up and tensed, but it wasn't a nervous strain. He looked…excited. "Okay, Emmett-try to catch me."

Emmett charged and Jasper disappeared. I could faintly make out his frame as he darted around Emmett's attacks with impossible speed. Suddenly Emmett froze. Jasper had him from behind, his teeth an inch from Emmett's neck.

Emmett swore colorfully. I was proud of him.

"Again," Emmett demanded.

"It's my turn," Edward protested. Bella's eyes got wide.

"In a minute," Jasper grinned, motioning for Alice to step forward. "I want to show Bella something first. I know you worry about her. I want to show you why that's not necessary."

He sank into a crouch in front of Alice, who looked exceptionally smug. Jasper darted forward and to the left, but when he reached where Alice had been standing, she was gone. He sprang again and Alice reemerged on the other side of him, like she had never moved in the first place.

Alice laughed randomly and was suddenly on Jasper's back, her lips at his neck.

"Gotcha," she laughed and kissed his cheek. "Sorry, Amanda!" she laughed afterwards. I smiled.

Jasper laughed and shook his head. "You truly are one frightening little monster."

Edward murmured something before declaring it his turn. It was entertaining to watch Edward and Jasper go at it…Edward could see what Jasper would do a second before he did, but Edward wasn't totally sure how to counteract. Eventually they called it a draw and the Cullens each practiced fighting with Japer one more time.

Jasper turned to the wolves, acknowledging them for the first time (but still looking less than thrilled about it) and said, "We'll be doing this again tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again."

"Yes, we'll be here," Edward said in that same creepy tone from earlier. He stepped away from Bella to face us and added, "The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with our scents-so there won't be any mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them."

"Certainly," Carlisle quipped in the direction of the wolves. "Whatever you need."

Jasper appeared by my side and took my hand. "Cool, huh?" he smiled, nodding his head in the direction where they had been practicing.

"Extremely," I agreed and laced my fingers with his cold ones.

Jaspers' gaze flickered from my face to what was going on behind me. I turned around and saw a line of huge wolves approaching us. Like, really huge. I'd never seen them before and was picturing German Shepherd sized dogs or something. They were more the size of bears.

One of the smaller wolves whined as he was left by himself between me, Carlisle and Jasper. I tried to hide my smirk in Jasper's shoulder. His stiff façade momentarily slipped as he glanced at me with an amused glint in his eye.

Bella began laughing and we all looked at her. She was playing around with one of the bigger wolves.

"She'll stink for weeks," Jasper muttered.

I elbowed him in the ribs as Edward called him over.

"Stay here," Jasper said quietly as he dropped my hand and Alice strode with him to meet Edward and the dog.

I sat down in the grass and put my head on my knees. I was drowsier than I would have liked to admit. How embarrassing for a night owl like me.

"Aw, do you need an Emmett hug?" Emmett laughed and plopped down beside me.

I looked up and made face at him. "I don't hug people who won't let me drive the Hummer!"

Emmett rolled his eyes and stood up to leave. "Fine, I know when I'm not wanted!"

"No! Don't go! How else will I know what they're saying over there?!" I whined pathetically.

Emmett sat down again and gasped melodramatically. "I'm being _uuuuuuused_!!"

I tried to look pitiful. "But you're my most favorite brother in the whole wide world!" Bribery first, then resort to begging. I stood up and gave him a hug. Even sitting he was almost my height…the top of his head was a little below my shoulder. I mentally cursed vampires for having the height advantage.

Emmett grinned and threw his steel grasp around me. At least I could breathe this time…he had gotten better about watching his grip. But he had had Bella to practice on long before I came into the picture.

"Oooh, Jasper's gettin' chewed out by Edward," Emmett said quietly before continuing with a transcript of their conversation. Apparently Jasper had a thought about Bella being in the meadow while the newborn fight was going on and Edward freaked out. I understood Edward's reaction, but Jasper shouldn't be scolded for a random idea.

"They're still going at it," Emmett continued. "Jasper agrees with Edward that it's a bad idea. Shit, he's coming back, don't tell anyone I was your spy!" He laughed and in one movement stood up and dashed over to Rosalie in the time it would've taken me to stand up.

Jasper watched Emmett disappear into the woods with Rosalie, Esme, Alice, and Carlisle and shook his head. He sat beside me and studied my expression. I imagined he was trying to get a good read of my emotions, too.

"Told you you'd feel better," he said finally, with a small smile.

"That gives you four points," I agreed and laid my head on his shoulder.

"I should get you back," he said, running a hand through my hair. "5am is pretty late, even for you."

"Nah, I'm good for a few more hours," I argued.

"Quit protesting," he said softly.

"I'm not protesting," I protested.

Jasper chuckled quietly, scooped me up into his arms and began walking at an impossible pace out of the meadow. The moonlight made his blond hair look silver and gave his skin a translucent glow. His freshly golden eyes looked more relaxed than usual…tired maybe.

"Are you tired?" I asked randomly.

"I don't get tired," he laughed.

"It wasn't a stupid question!" I laughed. "You were only practicing with everyone for like three hours! If you were tired I was gonna volunteer to haul myself at least part of the way back!"

"Very thoughtful, but not necessary," he snorted.

"Are you still worried?" I asked. I felt like I was asking too many questions.

"You're not asking too many questions," Jasper pointed out as he raced through the darkened forest. "I'm not so much worried about the fight as I am about you. I still don't know what to do…somewhere safe for you to go."

I nodded. There wasn't anything I could have said to help. I reached down to open the front door of the Cullen home…Jasper had his hands full hauling my sorry self.

"I wouldn't do it if I minded," he insisted as he set me down gently on his bed.

" I still can't believe Grandma lets me spend nights over here," I mused as I leaned back into the pillows along the headboard. "Even if she does think it's a sleepover with Alice."

"It's hard to say no to Alice," Jasper smiled slyly. "And I can be very…persuasive."

I burst out in laughter. "The day Grandma attacks you in a lustful fit don't expect me to help!!"

I could hear his quiet laughter from the closet, where he was rummaging around. He found the shirt he must have been looking for and peeled off the shirt he had been wearing. The scars on his torso glinted in the moonlight that seeped in from the window. It bothered me that his scars bothered him so much.

I pulled the laptop that was on the foot of the bed into my lap and began fooling around. I didn't want Jasper to think he had to comment on his scars or anything. He didn't owe me any more explanations.

I glanced at the latest news headlines and one caught my eye.

"Find something interesting?" Jasper asked as he laid down on his back beside me.

"I wonder if Carlisle remembers anything like this," I mused as Jasper skimmed the article I had just read.

Jasper's eyes darted back to me and his expression suddenly mimicked my amused smile. The article was about the discovery of a Venetian woman's skeleton who had been found with a brick in her mouth…a 16th century way of trying to kill vampires. (A/N: this is SO a real article! How interesting is that!? .com/s/ap/20090313/ap_on_sc/eu_italy_vampire_of_venice)

"He might, you should ask."

"Nah, it's late, I don't wanna bother him."

Jasper quirked an eyebrow.

"He might be working!" I defended myself. "You know, doing…I dunno, doctor stuff!"

"He's not, he's staring at the TV downstairs," Jasper smirked and picked the laptop up. I followed him downstairs, grumbling the whole time about how it was stupid and Carlisle would laugh at me for being so gloriously weird.

Carlisle's glance averted from the TV to Jasper and I. I looked at the floor. If Carlisle didn't think I wasn't already psychotic he certainly would after this.

Jasper laughed. "For God's sake, Amanda, he's not the one that bites!"

Carlisle looked confused and a little alarmed. "Please tell me no one as an STD." He sounded like such a typical parent of teenagers that I had to laugh.

"Er, no," I said and gestured to the laptop that Jasper was handing to Carlisle. "I was just wondering if you…remembered weird little methods like those. It's interesting to read about, but having a firsthand source downstairs made it too tempting not to ask."

"Oh yes, the brick in the mouth," Carlisle reminisced. "People are so funny in what they'll do to control the unknown." He then began to explain to me about other methods of killing medieval vampires and insuring that dead bodies wouldn't come back to life as "vampires."

"It was nice to have an in depth historical discussion with someone, but I think you really need to sleep. I'm a physician, I know these things," Carlisle smiled wisely and shooed me and Jasper away upstairs.

I curled up in Jasper's bed and pulled the soft blanket up around me. I rested my head on Jasper's chest.

"What was it like?" I asked, stifling a yawn."

"What was like?"

"Everything," I answered. "When Lincoln was killed, Teddy Roosevelt, when Pearl Harbor happened, JFK's assassination… everything."

"I don't remember Lincoln, I was in Mexico," he answered. "I was fond of Teddy Roosevelt, he was an amusing chap. I don't remember being concerned about JFK or Pearl Harbor and other tragic events. I was sorry they happened and all, but human affairs don't concern me too much…except yours."

"I bet Alice knows if JFK's assassination was a conspiracy," I said, getting more drowsy by the second.

"I bet she does too, but you really need to sleep."

"You're such a nag!" I whined playfully.

He laughed quietly. The deepness of his voice rumbled in his chest. A wave of serenity swept over me and I couldn't fight sleep any longer.


	26. Chapter 26

I woke up a few hours later. Jasper had his eyes closed and hadn't moved at all since I had drifted off. If I didn't know better I would have thought he was sleeping.

"Glad you decided to wake up," he smiled, still not opening his eyes.

"Mrmph." I'm so articulate in the morning. He chuckled at my brilliance. I faintly heard some noise downstairs…Bella must have been over. She and I were the only ones that made noise around here.

"Come on, I'll make you breakfast," Jasper offered, hopping out of the bed with grace compared to my lumbered effort. My shoulder popped when I reached up to toss the hair out of my eyes.

"And you make fun of _me_ for being old!" Jasper laughed.

"If I weren't still groggy I'd have an amazing, sarcastic reply," I smirked. What a sad day it is when I can't think can't come up with a witty remark. I followed him out the door, downstairs and to the kitchen.

"What are you in the mood for?" he asked, opening the refrigerator.

"Alice?" I called, looking over to the living room. "What am I in the mood for?"

"Oh, erm, pancakes," she said glumly.

Jasper didn't seem phased by Alice's mood; he cheerfully collected the ingredients…this time he knew where they were.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's just frustrated," he explained as he mixed batter. "She can't see anything since the wolves are involved."

I nodded in understanding. If he wasn't worried then I shouldn't be. I smiled suddenly as a thought crossed my mind.

"Can you put chocolate chips in the pancakes?" I asked with a pleading smile. "_Please_?"

"Well, you know, sweets aren't a good way to start the day…but I guess I'll let it slide," he laughed. "But don't get used to me being so permanently relaxed when it comes to your nutritional needs."

"Psh, please," I rolled my eyes. He flicked a chocolate chip at me then he dumped the rest into the bowl. I ate it greedily as he flipped a pancake on the stove. He was getting good at it.

"You were supposed to remind me to tell you something last night!" Edward randomly exclaimed, lurking in the doorway.

"You should've known I wouldn't remember!"

"Well I've gone and forgot now, it's lost forever!" he said all dramatically, flailing his arms about. Weird. I always had thought vampires were like elephants and never forgot. Edward laughed at me and left the room.

Jasper slid the plate with my breakfast on it to me and sat across the table. He still seemed cheerful but his brow has furrowed and he looked lost in thought. He stared down at the table with a hardened expression. I could guess what he was thinking about.

"You okay?" I asked. That was probably a dumb question.

He nodded, his gaze softened as he looked up at me. "I need to get you home soon, Alice said Lillian expects you back before noon."

I nodded and continued eating my breakfast. "You're getting really good at domestic things like cooking."

"Brace yourself, but I think I can even do laundry too!"

"I might have to keep you around awhile, then," I laughed.

I finished my pancakes and he dumped the empty plate in the trash. Throwing dishes away still entertained me, although I did hope they weren't precious heirloom dishes of Esme's or anything.

"Hey, Bella," I greeted her in the living room. If she replied I didn't know, Jasper put his hand on my back and ushered me outside to the porch.

"I'll explain in a moment," he mumbled, closing the door behind us. He held the car door open for me, earning my traditional snarl, and was beside me again in a split second.

"Well?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm…reluctant for you to be around Bella right now. The newborns have her scent and have been instructed to follow it. I can't risk her scent rubbing off on you, as far as we know they don't know about you. I'd like to keep it that way."

I nodded. "So do I need to stop coming around for the next couple of days?"

"It'd make me feel better."

That wasn't really a big deal to me. I'd miss seeing the Cullens for a few days, but I could handle it. In the scheme of things, trusting the judgment of a nearly 200 year old ex-army officer vampire seemed like a better idea than any stupid plan I could devise. Although some of my ideas might be so ridiculous the newborns would _never_ see it coming and actually work.

Jasper pulled into my driveway and stopped the car.

"I'll come by later," he said and leaned in and kissed me. "I love you."

"And I love you. I'll leave the light on for you…even though it is sunny today, which totally sucks."

He laughed and slouched back in the seat. He seemed reluctant for me to leave.

"Everything'll be fine, ya know."

"I know," he agreed. "But still."

"I know."

He gave my hand a squeeze and I got out of the car.

"Did you have fun?" Grandma asked as soon as I was inside.

"Yeah, it was nice."

"I was hoping Jasper would come in, I haven't seen my son in law in awhile!"

"He's planning on coming by later. He had a family thing to do."

"I don't know the rest of them too well, are they all as polite as Jasper?" she asked. I'd forgotten that to most of the town the Cullens were mysterious and distant.

"Disturbingly so." I leafed through the mail. There was another letter from Cornell, probably something about registration.

"Do you mind going to the store for me? The one down in LaPush, they're the only place around here that carries what I need. It's too far to go to a real grocery store…all the way in Port Angeles."

I agreed and she handed me the list, car keys and money. The drive to La Push was pretty, but I couldn't help but wonder if wolves were following me since I probably reeked of vampire to them.

I got to the store and started wandering around looking for the stuff on the list. I'd been there a million times; you'd think I'd remember where things were, but no. Shopping bored and irritated me. I finally found the things on the list and brought them up to the counter to pay. The guy looked familiar but I couldn't place him. He seemed to be eyeing me, too.

"You were with the Cullens the other night, weren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered, still slightly perplexed.

"I thought so; you're with the big blond one, right?"

Again, I nodded.

"I'm Quil," he said, extending his hand. "Jacob's friend from the party. I was in the meadow last night too, but you probably didn't see me."

"Oh, right, sorry. I knew you looked familiar. I'm Amanda." I shook his hand, it felt like I was sticking my hand into an oven. But then again, I was used to Jasper's frigid touch. Ew. Jacob. What an annoyance.

"Sorry if Jacob offended you that night or anything. Sometimes he can be a bit…"

"Of an ass?" I chimed in.

Quil laughed. "I was gonna say difficult, but ass'll work too."

I smiled and took the bag of my stuff he had put on the counter.

"Are you gonna come out again tonight?" he asked. Maybe it was a characteristic of all the wolves to ask an obscene amount of questions. But Quil seemed nice, so it could've been worse.

"Nah, not tonight. Jasper wants me to keep my distance from Bella…since…yeah."

"I gotcha," he agreed. "That's probably the best idea I've heard since all this started happening."

Someone got in line behind me so I took it as a cue to leave. "I'll see you around, sometime," I said.

"Yeah, see ya."

I drove too fast on the way back to Forks. One of the downsides to riding with a vampire is that eventually I seem to think I have superhuman reflexes too. But I made it back in one piece.

I went in the house and put the groceries up for Grandma before heading up to my room. I opened my door to see Jasper slouched in a corner cast in shadows, he could look pretty intimidating whether he meant to or not. I wasn't surprised to see him there, when I walked in the house I seemed to be able to tell he was there, but I'm not sure how.

"I want to apologize," he began.

"For…?" I always felt dumb when he thought he had been rude or something and I hadn't noticed.

"I've been short and distant with you lately. I don't mean to be taking my stress out on you, but I have been and I feel terrible about it."

"If the past few days are your idea of taking things out on me then it's no big deal," I tried to assure him. I sat down on my bed.

"Yes it is a big deal, it's not your fault any of this is happening and I shouldn't treat you any differently because of it."

"It's really fine," I insisted. "I completely understand why you've been so worried and stressed and preoccupied. I hadn't noticed you being short or anything, quit beating yourself up. You're so sensitive, Jazzercise!" I laughed.

"It's hard not to be," he grinned. "I've just been so worried about you…how to keep you safe. So worried, in fact, that I'm willing to overlook you calling me Jazzercise…whatever the hell that is."

I smiled.

"But I have a plan now," he said triumphantly with a crooked grin of satisfaction.

"Huzzah, success!" I tried to lighten the mood. Which probably didn't work, but I was always looking for something to distract him from his self inflicted guilt. "What's the plan?"

"Edward is staying with Bella somewhere in the forest while the fight's going on, which at first seemed like a disadvantage but with ten wolves on our side it doesn't affect much. And having him with her will keep Bella from going into cardiac arrest with worry, so that's a plus for us all."

"My first instinct was for me to take you somewhere far away for the weekend and come back when it's all over and the newborns are dead, but they need me too much. I'm the only one of us who knows what to expect from first-hand experience and I can't leave them."

I nodded as he paused to take a breath.

"I thought about having you stay with Edward and Bella, but if something were to go wrong and they got her scent it could be disastrous. Two humans in one place is a huge attention grabber for a vampire, let alone one a few months old and that's a lot for Edward to protect. Of course, any of my family would be glad to stay with you, but I've asked Esme if she would guard you for the day."

He paused for another breath and an amused smile crossed his features. "She may not look as dangerous as Emmett and me, but she's pretty fierce when you mess with one of her kids. She can be a lot more dangerous than anyone imagines."

I smiled. It was hard to picture sweet Esme ripping the head of a grizzly like Emmett. "So Esme and I camp out for a day or so and then everything goes back to normal?"

"God, I hope so," Jasper groaned and flopped back on the bed. "I still have to iron the details out, but I've talked to Alice and she says everything will go off without a problem." He absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair.

"Whatever you think'll be best," I tried to be cooperative. He didn't need me being difficult on top of everything else. "Would you like to make a formal entrance downstairs? Grandma was talking about wanting to see you."

He smiled. "Sure."

He hopped over to the window, silently opened it and was on the roof a mere second after the suggestion left my mouth.

"You smell like dog, by the way," he smirked and leapt off the side of the house. I hoped he saw the select hand gesture I chose to shoot in his general direction, but somehow I thought he got the message. I shut the window and heard the doorbell ring.

"Amanda, Jasper's here!" Grandma called up the stairs.

I strolled down the stairs and tried to act like it had been longer than 10 seconds since I'd last seen him. I went up and gave him a hug.

"I saw that, by the way," he chuckled into my ear.

"Well come in, Jasper! It's so nice to see you; I was just saying it had been awhile since you'd been over!" Grandma gushed. Seriously, when she threw herself at him in a lustful fit I hoped he didn't expect any help from me. The paramedics would have to resuscitate me from lack of oxygen due to excessive laughter. But Jasper had been to medical school, so at least I could be revived quickly.

Grandma chatted excitedly with Jasper for a few minutes before flitting back into the kitchen to check on whatever she was cooking. Jasper and I followed her and stood in the doorway as she continued talking.

"Won't you stay for dinner, dear?" she asked.

"No thank you ma'am, Esme and Alice are cooking something special tonight," he declined politely. "But thank you for the invitation."

I always sounded like an impolite heathen next to him. One time he'd told me that he was such a gentleman because he was trying to keep from going on a homicidal rampage. I had laughed, but I had the feeling he was only partially kidding.

"Well, shoot," Grandma said and wrapped a paper towel around a small cut she had just made on her finger. I glanced at Jasper out of the corner of my eye. His eyes were glued to the blood and he was perfectly still and incredibly tense. He had a steel grip on my hand, like I could hold him back.

"Jasper?" I said lowly, I knew Grandma wouldn't hear.

No answer.

"Jasper?" I said, still lowly but a bit more loudly. I had finally learned not to elbow him in the ribs, so I stomped on his foot instead.

He glanced at me, but didn't relax his posture.

"Why don't you go to my room and see if you can find that book you wanted?" I suggested, fumbling for something to say since Grandma was watching us now. Apparently stomping on your fiancé's foot isn't normal pre-marriage behavior. Who knew.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," he went along. "Excuse me, ma'am."

"You two and your books," Grandma laughed.

"Well, would you rather drugs or literature?" I smirked.

"I think the drugs might be more normal for your age bracket. Go on upstairs and help him find whatever he's looking for in that library of yours!" she shooed me away.


	27. Chapter 27

I crawled out my open window and sat under the awning where I knew Jasper already was. It must have been pretty late…or early, morning light had started to peek through the cloudy night sky.

"You haven't had a decent night's sleep since we met," he chuckled and put an arm around my shoulders as I curled up next to him.

"I can sleep when I'm dead."

He smiled and shook his head. "How'd you know I was out here, anyway?"

"Had a feeling," I shrugged. "Did you have fun?" Now that I looked closer I could see he looked a tad disheveled.

"Tossing Emmett around is always a good stress reliever."

I poked at the glob of pine sap on his shirt and smirked.

"I had to let him win once; it's boring to win _every_ time!"

"Yeah...sure, whatever you say," I giggled. "You could've stayed inside, ya know."

"I know, I didn't want to wake you and the internet started to bore me."

"The _internet_ bored you?!"

"I think I've seen everything online," he laughed. "Except those European travel tours you left up, is that some kind of a hint?"

"Ha, no. I was just perusing, I've always wanted to go. But I think my year long European escapade is probably out of my price range."

"Probably," he agreed. "It's overrated anyway, just a bunch of old stuff."

"But I like old stuff! You smell like dog, by the way," I mocked.

His nose wrinkled. "I know; it's driving me crazy. I think there are some of my clothes hidden in your closet or somewhere, but I didn't want to wake you up looking for them."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." I moved to get up but his arm held me down.

"Let's stay here awhile." The momentary sunlight caused his hand on my shoulder to sparkle. I laughed as he cringed. He moved suddenly and lay down and put his head in my lap. The fast movement made one of his joints pop loudly.

"Damnit, Emmett!" he swore, but with an amused smile.

"Did you let him win once too many?" I smirked.

"Of course not, but he did get a good one in. But _just_ one. And I apologize for swearing in front of a lady."

"Riiiiight." I rolled my eyes. Jasper gripped his left upper arm and shoved it back into the socket. It popped loudly again. It sounded painful but he didn't seem phased.

"Uh, ew," I said and smacked him playfully on the head. "Can't you take that elsewhere?"

He grinned, sat up and licked my cheek. "But you're so comfortable!" He laid back down and his shoulder didn't pop again.

"Didn't that hurt?" I asked.

"No, not really. It was just annoying, falling out of socket and all. It'll be fine by tomorrow."

I was about to ask what the plan was for when the newborns got there the next day, but I felt my stomach growl and Jasper must have heard it.

"I'll make you breakfast," he volunteered. Apparently I had a fiancé and a personal chef all in one. And I wasn't complaining.

"If you want to," I said, not wanting him to feel obligated. "I can do it myself, too."

"I'll do it. It gives me a chance to practice what I see on the Food Network. Edward and I watch it. Lillian's about to get up and cooking for her will be a good opportunity to--"

"Suck up?" I cut in.

"I would have said "bond" instead, but either way."

He followed me back into my room through the window. I tossed a pile of my clothes (I hadn't decided if they were dirty or clean) out of the way and found some of Japer's clothes folded in the back corner of the closet. I handed them to him and he kissed my cheek.

"See you in a minute," he said before disappearing back onto the roof.

I reached the foot of the stairs just as the doorbell rang.

"Jasper!" I greeted. "So lovely to see you for the first time ever today!"

He laughed at me and I stretched up and kissed him.

"You smell much better now," I affirmed.

He grinned. "I feel so much cleaner. I just tossed those clothes in the woods…no amount of washing can _ever_ fix them."

"As if Alice ever lets any of you wear the same thing twice."

"True." He rooted around in the refrigerator, scouting out what he could make. "I feel like trying my hand at French toast. I've seen Paula Deen make it at least a dozen times, so I feel I'm pretty much an expert."

"Have at it," I encouraged, sitting at the table. I wasn't one to discourage the cooking process, even though Paula's accent drove me crazy.

A few minutes later he had put two plates full of the toast on the table and one empty plate. He put the empty plate in front of himself.

I thanked him and dug in.

"Let's get married," he spouted randomly. He even looked like he had surprised himself.

"Uh, we are….aren't we?" I asked and held up my left hand, showing my engagement ring.

"I mean soon. Kind of soon. Not tomorrow or anything, but in the foreseeable future…maybe the next few months?" Jasper actually looked shy as the words came out of his mouth.

"You want us to pick a date?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant."

I nodded. "We can do that. When's good for you?"

He chuckled at my irony. "My schedule's pretty open for the next few centuries." He paused and looked thoughtful. "We could do it in Europe , since you want to go so badly."

"Are you planning to ditch me in Italy or something?" I laughed.

"No, not Italy, the Volturi are there and that might not end well. I could ditch you in Germany, maybe."

"At least you're honest." I kicked him under the table and he tried to look innocent as he speared a piece of my half eaten toast. He plopped it down on his empty plate a second before Grandma came in the kitchen.

She showered Jasper with greetings and thanked him profusely for breakfast. I smirked in amusement. I always wondered if she really liked him that much or if he did it on purpose. Either way, it was hysterical to watch her grin and giggle like a teenager while they chatted, Jasper being the perfect gentleman. I have no idea how he kept a straight face the whole time.

"I must say, Amanda, I was always worried about what kind of man you'd end up with…you do have unconventional taste, but I highly approve of this one," Grandma gushed as Jasper put her plate in the sink for her.

"Psh, I've always had excellent taste, you just didn't believe me until now!"

"No dear, you haven't," Grandma sighed. "Do I have to remind you about that British exchange student?"

"What?!" I laughed. "There was a British guy _in Forks_ in my class! What was I supposed to do! It's not my fault he ended up being involved in the mafia or whatever, how was I supposed to know!"

"In the mafia or _whatever_?" Jasper smirked.

I kicked him under the table again.

"You're going to hurt yourself doing that," he sneered.

"Don't hurt Jasper!" Grandma patted him on the head. I rolled my eyes at the irony. As if I could hurt him. The only thing in the immediate future that could hurt him was bloodthirsty, crazed, newborn vampires. My stomach flipped as the thought crossed my mind. I tried to mentally change subjects. Me freaking out wouldn't do anything to help me or him.

"I'm off to La Push for the day," Grandma chirped and headed for the door. "And Amanda, if you keep abusing Jasper I'm afraid I'll have to take him away from you!"

"Um, ew," was the only response I could think of.

She frolicked out the door with more energy than anyone should have before noon, much less a seventy something year old woman, not knowing that her whole weekend had been planned to keep her safe down in La Push and away from the incoming vampires.

"I won't always be here to save you when she hurls herself at you," I rolled my eyes at Jasper.

"I can't help myself, it's too funny."

I moved my leg to kick him again, but he stood up and was behind me in less than a second.

"Nice try," he laughed and kissed the top of my head.

I followed him into the living room and sat on the couch by him.

"We're so boring," I mused, trying to quell the unwelcome worrying I felt coming on. "It's like we're _both_ old farts."

Of course I couldn't fool him.

"You don't have anything to worry about," he insisted patiently.

"I know, I'm worried about _anything_; I'm worried about _you_."

He chuckled, which took me slightly off guard. "I'm about as close to indestructible as anything can get. Out of the two of us, I'm not the breakable one."

"Yeah, but out of the two of us I'm not the one fighting vampires in the morning."

"No, you're not. I've seen to that." He sensed I was about to ask what the plan was so he continued. "I'm picking you up early tomorrow, around daybreak…whenever Alice sees when that is, then I'm driving you and Esme to a campsite in the mountains about thirty miles away. That dog, Quil, was it?"

I nodded.

"He's following us there to cover the scent there and then in the camp. God knows no one will stick their nose close enough to that trail to care who was there. Then after it's all over, Esme will carry you back to the meadow. It's pretty simple, really."

I nodded and leaned into his shoulder. I didn't really like the phrase "when it's all over."

"If you're not careful and you get hurt I'm afraid I'll have to kill you," I warned.

"I'll keep that in mind," he grinned. "And I'm terrified to disobey."

"Damn straight!" I said with gusto. "I miss Emmett. I haven't had anyone to verbally joust with and I'm going insane! You're too mellow and courteous to participate in verbal jousting."

"Emmett misses you too, he misses having someone to pick on. Believe it or not, Rosalie isn't really into short jokes."

"Shocking."

Jasper flung his head back onto the cushion and groaned. "Edward and Bella are trying to send me into cardiac arrest…or make my head explode. Actually, my head exploding would be more preferable than dealing with them."

"Oh, God," I said, only imagining what emotions the tortured couple was radiating.

"It's like constant mood swing," Jasper explained, shaking his head back and forth. "Bella goes from frozen with worrying to being quite amorous and then back again. Edward's the same way, but he'd never admit it."

I snorted. "Little innocent Bella and Saint Edward. Who would have thought?"

"I wish I didn't. Weren't we talking about a wedding before?" he changed subjects randomly.

"I do believe so. But I'm all about eloping in, like, London or somewhere."

He laughed. "I doubt eloping's going to work out."

"Yeah, and it would really hurt Grandma's feelings if she wasn't there. Maybe just a really small thing then or something. I don't know. I never thought I'd get married so I haven't really thought about it."

Jasper's phone rang. He answered it and hung up in a second.

"Alice is on her way over," he explained.

I wrinkled my nose, realizing that she had probably seen my elopement suggestion.

A second later the front door flung open, making me jump.

"Amanda!" Alice greeted enthusiastically, enveloping me in a frigid hug. "I just wanted to come over to assure you everything'll be fine tomorrow."

I glanced down at the bag she was carrying.

"While I was over….." she began, "I thought I might as well bring over some bridal magazines. You know, give you some ideas."

"Um, okay…" I said, knowing that it really wasn't an option. Alice did have good taste, though. We both knew I'd probably like what she picked out, as long as it wasn't too flamboyant and girly.

"I'm going to hunt!" Jasper exclaimed and darted out the door, leaving me all alone with a very hyper Alice.

"Not yet! I have something to give Amanda and you have to be here!"

Jasper sat back down and looked confused as Alice rummaged in her bag and pulled out a small box. She handed it to me with a big grin. I opened it to reveal a bracelet made of polished red stones.

"Thanks, Alice, it's pretty," I said as I put it on.

Her grin got bigger. "You don't know what the stone is, do you?"

I shook my head.

"It's Jasper, silly!!" she laughed. Jasper and I joined in.

"I swear, since I've known you people, I've gotten more jewelry in the past 6 months than in my whole life."

"Even more than from your mafia ex-boyfriend?" Jasper chuckled. I swatted him on the shoulder.

I groaned. "Shut up, that only lasted like 2 months. Then he got deported or something."

"Or _something_?" he laughed harder. In a demonstration of my maturity, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Enough of this chit chat, we have business to attend to!" Alice exclaimed and straightened her pile of magazines.

"I'm going hunting," Jasper said quickly. He kissed my cheek lightly and whispered, "I'll be back soon."

Alice grinned devilishly. "I heard something about Europe…don't get alarmed, I know you don't want flamboyance and lots of people. So, I was thinking this."

She began to discuss some places she thought I'd like, some fabrics, some flowers. I tried to stay attentive but eventually glazed over. It was going to be a long afternoon.


	28. Chapter 28

I was lying on the couch, being a touch overdramatic, when Jasper slinked back inside. I didn't really like him leaving me alone, but I was making a real effort not to be all clingy. I worried more when he wasn't around…which is saying a lot because lately I'd been doing a lot of worrying while he was present. Instead, I was trying to distract myself by staring at the ceiling. You can imagine how well it was working out.

"I see you made it through Alice's barrage," he smiled.

I nodded. "She had some good ideas, there was just way too many. I couldn't keep up, I need to mentally breathe. Thanks for leaving me all alone with that, by the way."

"She already told me what you'd pick out, after I made her swear on her new Porsche that she wouldn't force you into anything."

"So I have this migraine for nothing, then? Since she already knew."

Jasper chuckled and I semi-playfully glared. "She just wanted to double check. You know that she can't see decisions until they're made and she says you're hard to read. She was just being thorough."

I suddenly burst out laughing. Apparently I was too eccentric for the all-seeing vampire to see my future.

"You're more complicated than you think you are," he sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch. "So we're getting hitched in Germany, then?"

"Looks like it. We just have to pick an exact date," I answered. "I guess if we wanna do it before going off the Cornell it needs to be in the next month or two."

His brow furrowed.

"What?"I asked.

"It's just something Alice told me earlier." He paused and took a deep breath. "Alice said she can't see you anymore after next week and doesn't know why. I know you're not planning anything crazy while the newborns are around, we don't understand it."

I shrugged. "Maybe I turn into a werewolf."

"That dog has such a thing for you," Jasper grumbled, looking less than thrilled.

"Ha! Quil? Really?"

The roll of Jasper's eyes and a scowl was my answer. I tried to contain my laughter but I can only do so much. A second later Jasper joined in.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. I like my men cold, dead and sparkly. Not smelling like wet dog and pissing on tree trunks."

"I'm so relieved." He scooped me up so I was sitting on his lap.

"Did you have fun?" I asked, stifling a yawn. It wasn't late, but I hadn't been sleeping well lately.

"Yeah, but I missed you." He kissed my forehead. "You're going to give yourself gray hair from all this worrying."

A feeling of serenity washed over me.

"It's hard not to worry," I argued.

"Think of something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, whatever girls think of…puppies, kittens, oven mitts. Or in your case, something artsy…like oil paints. Anything to keep you from being on the verge of a mental breakdown."

"Mmm, Starbucks," I said longingly. "A caramel latte is _so_ much better than kittens. And oven mitts. And really any other beverage, although maybe not better than oil paints."

He laughed and I thought I saw him make his "mental note" face. I hoped he wouldn't got to any trouble…the closest Starbucks is in Port Angeles. That was a long way to go for some coffee. Even if it was incredible, energy giving, mouth-watering espresso with a delightful shot of caramel.

"I'll be sure and plan our honeymoon around your coffee addictions," he grinned.

I laughed but didn't argue.

"I'm going upstairs, Lillian's about to be back. Since you haven't had any coffee today you're too weak to pull her off me."

I snorted and he darted up the stairs. It was kind of fun sneaking around like that. Of course the guarantee we wouldn't be caught was a definite plus. Grandma came in, spouted greetings and began to talk animatedly about her day. I grunted and tried to sink farther into the couch. I really hadn't been sleeping well lately…being exhausted by 8pm after not having done anything was testament to that. I briefly wondered where I could snag some B12 shots. I heard that sticking yourself in the butt with one was an excellent energy jolt.

"Honey, just go to bed. You need all the rest you can get if you're going to Seattle with Alice tomorrow," Grandma said from the kitchen doorway.

"M'kay," I muttered and trudged up the stairs. I didn't want to go to sleep. The sooner I slept the sooner tomorrow would be here. This time tomorrow, I might be Jasper-less. Again, I tried to mentally change the subject. I opened my bedroom door and walked straight into Jasper's chest.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could make you believe me," he said quietly. His expression was ridden with guilt, which made me feel guilty.

"I believe you," I argued, "but I can't help being anxious."

"I wish I could convince you that I'm not the one I'm worried about. I'm as close to indestructible as they come…you're the breakable one."

"Right, as long as the newborns don't use their "brute strength" and rip you apart."

It came out a bit harsher than I intended.

"Nothing's going to go wrong," he tried to assure for what had to be the millionth time.

"Then why do I have enough fake IDs, papers and credit cards to relocate to another country without anyone suspecting a thing?" I blinked back tears. I was trying to be strong, I really was, but I don't deal well with such ominous suspense.

"I'm nothing if not thorough," he said quietly and rested his chin on top of my head. He picked me up, walked over to the bed, somehow balanced me with just one arm and pulled the covers down. He tucked me in like I was a little kid and lay on his side next to me.

I giggled randomly and he looked confused.

"I dunno," I explained. I have such a way with words.

"Your mood swings could throw the planet out of orbit, you know."

"What?" I smirked. "I think I'm pretty stable to be a girl."

He laughed. "I guess you have a point… to everyone else you're pretty mellow. Of course, they don't know any different, though." He reached over and turned off the lamp. "You've _got_ to go to sleep, you're exhausted…and that's making _me_ tired."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll calm down and go to sleep, but if you come back tomorrow with so much as a scratch I'll personally kill you."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, but the amused smile lingering at his lips implied I wasn't being taken too seriously.

I didn't remember drifting off, but the next thing I knew Jasper's deep, quiet voice told me it was time to get up.

"Ugh, five more minutes," I groaned. I slept surprisingly well, I suspected Jasper had a hand in it. And he'd get no complaints from me.

I heard him chuckle and lay back down. "Sure."

I rolled over and rested my head on his chest. "Nevermind, I'm already awake."

"Esme will be here in 10 minutes, all you need to do is change clothes into something warm; you can afford to doze for a minute."

I glanced around the room and saw that a pair of jeans, a dark purple sweater and my leather jacket was laid out over my desk chair. Finally, someone understood how far from a morning person I was.

"I love you, Jasper."

"And I love you," he said. He glanced at his watch and sighed, "She's early."

I heaved myself out of bed, earning a snicker from Jasper when my knee popped loudly. In return, he received a specific hand gesture. I changed clothes in a half asleep state and nearly fell over putting on my shoes. Yep. Not a morning person. But I did manage to remain upright as I shrugged on my jacket.

"You'll need these; it's going to be quite cold today. And you'll be in the mountains," Jasper explained and handed me a scarf and some gloves. I stuffed them in my pockets.

He took my hand and led me downstairs. Esme was waiting on the front porch. She greeted me with a warm smile and a hug. She and Jasper exchanged a few words that were too quiet for me to hear, although I knew they didn't do it intentionally.

The next thing I knew, the three of us were in the Mustang. Jasper's driving was less alarming than usual, probably because my death grip on his hand hampered his steering. Esme sat quietly in the backseat, trying to be unobtrusive.

"Here, Amanda," Esme said gently and handed me a Starbucks cup. "Someone told me that a caramel latte was your comfort food."

"Aw, thanks, Esme!" I said and took the sweet nectar of life. "And thanks, Jasper."

He smiled and glanced out the rearview mirror. He was being unusually quiet, and he wasn't even a loud person, but it didn't matter. There wasn't really anything to say.

"Isn't Quil supposed to be following us?" I asked after taking a sip of my beloved beverage.

"He is, he's a little bit behind us off in the woods," Esme explained, casting a glance behind us.

I nodded and zoned out as I drank my latte. You couldn't really call it a state of shock, but I wasn't sure how to react. I was potentially about to lose my fiancé—the only person who had ever managed to make me feel like I belonged somewhere. The only thing I could concentrate on at the moment was the death grip my left hand had on his right hand. He swung the car off the pavement and onto a dirt road that was really more of a trail, and kept driving. The trail got rougher and rougher. I thought the Mustang would get stuck at any minute, but somehow it kept going forward. We reached a small clearing and Jasper slammed the poor car into park. He flung open his door and a second later had the door open for Esme and me.

He took my hand and gingerly helped me out of the car. He didn't release my hand and I tried not to resume my death grip. He didn't say it had hurt him, I knew I physically couldn't, but my own hand hurt a little. I glanced around the clearing. There was a tall rock wall that looked like it had fallen straight off a mountain, adjacent to where the Mustang was parked.

"Everything you need is here," Jasper began to explain as he took his jacket off and draped it around my shoulders. "The wind is blowing the right direction, so if you stay close to the rocks they'll keep your scent from being carried off, although if that were to happen it wouldn't be devastating as we're 30 miles away from the meadow."

"There's a shorter trail back to the road," he pointed out. "If anything were to go wrong, which it won't, Esme can hold them off long enough for you to be safely on the road. The car keys are in my jacket pocket. There's a bag in the car with anything you'll need…fake ID, credit cards, fake passport, and that plane ticket. Esme has a cell phone; I'll call her when it's safe for you to come back."

I nodded and stared at the ground.

"It's all going to be fine, I promise," he said and crouched down so we were eye level. "But I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't taken every precaution possible for you."

I nodded again and launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in the crook of his neck. He put his hands on my waist and stood up, picking me up…one of the few times in my life when I could actually be tall.

"I love you, Amanda," he said.

"I love you too."

"I _promise_ everything'll be fine," he insisted quietly.

"Well, remember what I told you earlier. And I really don't want to have to kill you."

He chuckled and we kissed. I thought I heard a snort come from Quil's direction. It had to have been Quil, Esme didn't make dog noises and was still trying to linger unobtrusively. Jasper set me back down on the ground and nodded to Quil, who began to trot over.

Jasper dropped my hand and took a few steps back.

"I love you," he said again.

"I know, and you know I love you."

He smiled and jogged back about 20 feet. Esme moved to stand beside me and put a motherly hand on my shoulder. Quil began to jog around the clearing, obscuring the trail of all of our scents. He rubbed against all sides of the car, before circling around Esme and me and lightly grazing us with his fur. Esme maintained a pleasant expression, but if he stank half as bad to her as it did to me I have no idea how she did it. Jasper kept an unblinking, hard glare on Quil's every move.

Satisfied that everything in the camp stank of wet dog, Quil wagged his tail at me and then retreated to stand next to Jasper. Jasper and I made eye contact one last time before he dashed off into the woods. A second later he was out of my line of vision. And potentially out of my life.

I sank down and sat on a rock.

"I'm sorry," I said to Esme. "I know this is hard for you, being separated from Carlisle. I'm sure you'd rather be with him making sure he's fine instead of babysitting me."

"I'd do anything to keep my family safe. You're part of that now," she said softly and sat beside me. "This is a miniscule price to pay for your safety and Jasper's happiness. Besides, it's not like Carlisle is fighting an army of vampires on his own, and neither is Jasper. There's nothing for us to worry about."

"I still feel guilty," I elaborated. "For making you stay here and I feel like I'm just being a distraction for Jasper when he doesn't need one."

"You're not," she soothed. "Jasper is a protector, it's part of his nature. It's what sucked him into this life, offering protection to those women."

We lapsed into silence. A few minutes later, Esme retrieved a backpack from the car. She handed it to me and smiled.

"Jasper provided entertainment."

I quirked an eyebrow and opened the bag. Inside were a few books, one of those bottled Starbucks drinks, my iPod, and some bridal magazines. A piece of paper jutted from the top of one of the magazines. I plucked it from between the pages. In Jasper's slanted scrawl was the simple phrase: "Alice made me." In spite of myself I laughed.

"How long are we supposed to be here?" I asked Esme.

"A few hours."

I nodded and pulled out one of the books. I needed any distraction I could get.


	29. Chapter 29

I swore quietly, yet ever-so-creatively, to myself. Time had officially stopped. I murmured another four letter word and deeply hoped Esme wasn't religious or easily offended. She snapped the cell phone shut and I felt remarkably unobservant for not noticing she'd answered it in the first place.

"Can we go?" I asked, feeling hopeful, anxious and impatient. It was probably a good thing Jasper wasn't there; I probably would have caused him to short circuit.

The motherly vampire chuckled at me. "Yes, they're finished. We can go. And everyone's fine, just like Jasper said they would be."  
I made a mad dash over to the Mustang. I usually prided myself on being the mellow, sensible one who didn't freak out when separated from her fiancé for more than ten minutes, but this was pushing it. But no one else's fiancé just fought off a group of crazed, newborn vampires…except for Bella's. And I was still probably the mellow, sensible one compared to how she was undoubtedly freaking out right about now.

"It's faster to run, hop on," Esme said. Before I could act, she had taken my arm and slung me up onto her back. Of course, she was anxious to get back too, to see Carlisle and her family and the pace she was setting proved it.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Peachy," I answered; thanking all the gods I had sworn at earlier that I wasn't prone to motion sickness.

I hadn't realized how far we had been from the meadow; it took several minutes for us to reach it, even with Esme's lightening speed. She darted between trees and suddenly we arrived in the clearing. Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie and Alice were standing around a burning heap. The flickering flame made them sparkle faintly. I scanned the meadow for Jasper.

He was lurking on the other side of the fire; his body was rigid with concentration. His back was to me, but I could sense that he was glaring intensely at the figure in front of him. I didn't recognize who it was through the haze of the smoke.

I slipped off onto the ground and took a tentative step forward and the figure, now obviously female, shrieked horribly and stared at me. Her eyes flickered between me and the newly arrived Bella. Jasper sank into a crouch. Carlisle came over and said something to the other vampire. He also said something to Jasper, who stood up and glanced back at me.

The next thing I knew, Jasper was right in front of me and I was scooped up in his arms. I sighed in relief and buried my face into his neck. I couldn't tell if the relief cascading over me was my own or his. But I didn't care.

The girl, who I had deduced was one of the newborns, screamed again. Jasper turned so his back was to her, as if to shield me should she run toward us. I rested my chin on his shoulder and watched her. She clawed at the dirt and stared at Bella and me in bloodlust with piercing red eyes. Our eyes locked and for the first time I understood exactly why Jasper had been so worried about my safety. She was an out of control, bloodthirsty animal with no other want in life than to end mine.

"You're fine?" Jasper asked as he set me down on the ground, glancing over me. His soft amber eyes were a stark contrast from the newborn's red ones I had seen a second before.

"What happened to you?" I asked. I took his hand and held his arm up to better examine the angry red gashes that were scattered on his forearm.

"It's nothing, I was just bitten a few times. Not a big deal."

I stared at the bite wounds. It was the first time I had seen any coloration on his skin.

"Is it as bad as it looks?" I asked.

"Nah, it just burns," he answered. He used the arm I had been studying to swipe his hair out of his eyes, trying to take my attention off it. I knew he was being less than truthful, I remembered he had told me that venom burned like hell. I imagined he was in a lot more pain than he was letting on, undoubtedly downplaying his injuries, but I decided not to nag.

"Overprotective fool," Alice laughed as she breezed by.

Jasper shrugged sheepishly and draped an arm over my shoulder. "I couldn't let any of them get away." I rolled my eyes but still smiled. Overprotective fool, indeed.

The inferior vampire shrieked and jerked violently. She was obviously trying not to give into her instinct to kill Bella and I. Jasper took a step forward and angled himself in front of me. I tried to imagine Jasper out of control like that, with the creepy red eyes and clawing at the ground. I couldn't do it. He might claim to have been like that once, but nonetheless, I couldn't picture it. Not the Jasper I knew now.

"She surrendered," Jasper explained quietly to me. I raised an eyebrow. "It was all Carlisle's idea."

"I could believe that."

"You smell horrible, by the way."

"That was the idea, wasn't it?" I smirked.

"Amanda!" Emmett boomed as he strolled over to us. "You made it out in one piece!"

Jasper glared at him.

Emmett opened his arms as if to hug me, but stopped before he enveloped me in the steel grip I knew so well.

"Not happening," he said and sniffed the air. "You stink way too bad, babe."

I smacked him on the arm. Emmett rolled his eyes and head back to stand with Rosalie.

"Ow," I murmured and rubbed my hand. One day I'd remember not to strike vampires. Jasper laughed at me and I suppressed the urge to smack him, too.

"The Volturi are on their way," Alice said to us quietly, appearing out of nowhere.

"Shit," Jasper grumbled.

I let loose such a glorious stream of mental profanity that Edward actually turned around and looked at me. Under any other circumstance it would've been funny. Sadly, this wasn't one. I mentally apologized for my colorful vocabulary. The group began to morph into a loose line.

"They'll know if we take off," Jasper began. He took my hand and started leading me toward Esme at the end of the line. "I think they probably know about you, but we can only hope that Bella gets all their attention. Just stay close to Esme."

"And try to be unassuming?" I chortled. There it goes again…reverting to humor in a dire circumstance. It really was a disease.

Jasper smirked. "Try your best, my dear." He dropped my hand and took his place in the middle of the line between Carlisle and Emmett.

I glanced around and knew why he wanted me with Esme. Bella, Edward and Alice were the farthest away from me, on the other side of Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper. He had once told me that the Volturi desperately wanted Edward and Alice to join them, so they would probably be in the center of attention. Bella being right beside them certainly wouldn't help.

"Just relax, the worst is over now," Esme smiled warmly, earnestly attempting to be reassuring.

I nodded and took a deep breath. This was almost over. Things could go back to normal. Or as normal as possible when your fiancé is a 200 year old vampire. After this the biggest thing to deal with was leaving for Cornell in August, and compared to this, that a cakewalk. Ooh, cake. I had to remember to ask Grandma to make one of those caramel cakes I'm obsessed with. Since Jasper had decided to become my personal chef it wouldn't be a bad idea to get him to learn to make it, too.

The emergence of shadowy figures creeping into view snapped me out of my mental ramble. I briefly wondered if Edward had been listening. I glanced over at Jasper, who looked way too tense to be healthy. The surrendered vampire screamed again and I scowled at her. Really, shut up already…we all knew she wanted to kill Bella and me, it was old news. It didn't scare me like it had a few minutes before; I figured the odds of her getting through seven mature vampires, including a very protective Jasper, were pretty minimal. Hell, compared to what the Volturi were capable of doing to me, to _us_, she wasn't scary at all.

I took a deep breath and tried to put on an air of confidence. I wasn't expecting to fool the ancient vampires, but I had hoped they wouldn't notice me if I didn't have a spaz attack. I shoved my hands into the pockets of Jasper's leather jacket and tried to practice being a chameleon, which was hard, because I'd never tried to before, as the foreign vampires descended on us like a mist.


	30. Chapter 30

"You made it through round two, kid!" Emmett laughed and tousled my hair like I was five years old. The urge to strike him was pretty overpowering, but I refrained, remembering how painful it was on my end. "You know you're badass when even the Volturi won't mess with you!"

"Oh yeah, I'm so badass," I rolled my eyes. I took a step back to avoid another hair tousling from Emmett and backed straight into Jasper. "Sorry. How long've you been there?"

"The whole time," he grinned. Emmett winked at us and wandered back toward the others.

"Creepy. You really need to cut down on the brooding and lurking. Being a vampire is no excuse!"

He smiled softly and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You seem less edgy now," I noted.

"The Volturi didn't eat you and everyone's still alive. I believe I've earned the right to unwind," he chuckled and then fell dramatically to the ground, landing flat on his back. I sat Indian style beside him.

"You sure your arm's okay?" I asked.

He nodded and hopped back up on his feet like a cat. "You want to get out of here?"

"Yeeeees," I whined. I took Jasper's extended hand and let him pull me up. We began to walk toward the edge of the meadow.

"I think Bella wants to talk to you," Jasper said quietly.

"It can wait." I knew Bella meant well, but I wasn't in the mood to listen to whatever she had to say. Sometimes we didn't communicate well, her being overly sensitive and me being overly sarcastic.

"The woods smell like…_dog_," Jasper frowned.

I laughed at him. "They're not so bad."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill one of them, Quil, I think. He likes you a little too much. It's awkward."

"Me? Really?" I snorted in laughter but then composed myself. "Be nice to me or I'll leave you for the dog!"

Jasper laughed too. "I was actually thinking about doing something nice tonight, but if you have your heart set on being with the mutt then be my guest."

"Ooh, well, I need more details before I can be definite. You know how busy my schedule is."

"I was thinking Mediterranean food…maybe in Seattle? I feel bad I've kept you cooped up in Forks for so long; I know you're bored out of your mind here. But since everything's back to normal now, we can go places."

"You're not too tired for something like that?"

He grinned. "I told you, I don't _get_ tired."

"But you're sure?"

"Well, maybe I'll take a nap first and then we can go."

I elbowed him in the ribs. "Where are we going, by the way? Your place or mine and how do we get there?"

"Yours and we're going to the car," he answered. "Too many people at home. Your Grandma is a lot easier to deal with."

"And the fact you have her totally wrapped around your little finger has nothing to do with it," I mused.

"Keep it up and I'll _give_ you to the dog," he grinned. I stifled a yawn. "It looks like you're the one who needs a nap."

"Nah, I'm good. We have to go party in Seattle!" I protested.

He shook his head and gave me a knowing look. "So you're a morning person all of a sudden?"

My silence spoke volumes. Jasper smirked.

"Shut up."

"You just want me to buy you whiskey in Seattle, don't you?"

I mumbled something indecipherable but he knew he was right. "We know each other entirely too well; it's weird. We should get out more."

"I think that's an alright problem to have." He offhandedly threw his arm around my shoulders. It was nice to have him back. Not that he had ever left, but a stressed out and worried Jasper had worried me too. No one should ever have to be that on edge.

"Let's go home," he said and the next thing I knew I was on his back whizzing through the forest. Amusement parks had nothing on this. Before I knew it I was sitting in the comfortably heated Mustang tearing down the rugged forest "road."

"I need a new one of these." Jasper grumbled.

"New what?"

"Car."

I snorted. "I thought you meant shoes or something. Yeah, you've had this car, what, like a year?"

He shrugged.

"Can I have this one when you get a new one?" I asked. I tried to look pitiful but we both knew I really didn't care.

"I think I can do better than this for you. Perhaps something large and preferably armored."

"I'm an excellent driver!" I argued.

"I know _you_ are, but these stupid teenagers around town aren't. Damn kids and their obnoxious rap music."

"Sometimes you're _such_ an old man!" I couldn't hold back the laughter. He laughed with me. We lapsed into comfortable silence and I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I realized we were pulling into my driveway.

"Oh, sure, you're not too tired for dinner." He rolled his eyes at me as he held the front door open for me.

I, with all the dignity that's possible when doing so, stuck my tongue out and flipped him off. He just laughed.

"Oh, here," I said, took off his jacket I had been wearing and handed it back. I had forgotten I had it on until we got indoors into the pleasant warmth. Seriously, why people want to live in a dead end town that's freezing nine months out of the year is beyond me. I didn't mind the constant overcast clouds nearly as much as the biting cold. "What time is it anyway?"

"Time for you to rest."

"Seriously. My watch is upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it. Please tell me? I'm being very nice!"

He smirked and sat down on the sofa, pulling me with him. "Seriously. Take a breather for an hour or so then we'll head out for Seattle. I promise."

I chose to ignore his slight mockery, laid my head down on his shoulder and he gently took my hand in his. "Yeah, I guess you've been pretty good with your promises lately."

"I'm nothing if not thorough," he chuckled softly and then kissed my hand. I buried my face into his shoulder and groaned when I heard a car pull in the driveway. "By the way, It's almost 3:30."

"Time is so trivial. And not to mention passé."

He chuckled. "I'll meet you upstairs whenever your Grandma's tired of telling you about her day."

"She's excited about something?"

"Very…or she's had a lot of sugar. It's a hard call." And with that he slinked up the stairs. I couldn't help but love the way he moved, so catlike and mysterious and..slinky-ish. I wished I could be slinky. Or at least suave. I mentally snorted at my insanity. Yeah, some people wished for world peace and instead, deep down I wished I could move like a slinky. I'm such a good person. I heard Grandma clomp up the front stairs and I flicked on the TV so it didn't look like I had just been sitting there staring at nothing like an insane person. Which I clearly was, but grandmas don't need to know some things.

"Amanda!" she chorused as she glided through the door. "You've got to come down to LaPush with me tomorrow!" Then she proceeded to tell me about some craft thing with some of her friends or something. I tried to pay attention, but kind of drifted off. Jasper was right, I needed a nap. Or perhaps a heavy dose of caffeine. Both actually sounded pretty good.

"Honey, you look exhausted! Did shopping with Alice wear you out?" Grandma continued to talk at top speed.

"Uh, yeah." I was slowly losing the ability to concentrate.

"I swear, that child never slows down. Is Jasper here? I saw his car out front."

I froze for a second, I hadn't thought of a story. The whole truth probably wasn't a good idea, even the toned down version in which I knew he was just upstairs in my room, probably laying on my bed and getting a real kick out of this conversation.

"Nah," I managed to recover. "Emmett or someone's bringing him by later to get the car. We're going out tonight, probably Seattle or somewhere with things like real restaurants and stuff. Ya know, culture."

She laughed at me and told me to have fun, but made me promise to be back at a halfway decent hour because I had to go with her tomorrow to La Push. When I asked exactly what a decent hour was she said before the sun came up. I said we could probably make that happen.

"When's Jasper coming by?" she asked. She smiled when she said his name. I couldn't help but think she had a slight crush on my fiancé`. And, frankly, it was probably all his fault. "Amanda, my beautiful granddaughter whom I love very much, if that handsome fiancé` of yours is coming by the house, for God's sake, you should really go clean up! Or at least brush your hair!" She laughed and meandered into the kitchen.

I couldn't think of a snappy comeback (oh, what a sad day it was!) so I trudged upstairs into the bathroom. To have been up since…I couldn't even remember what time, so I knew it was way too damn early, and to have been freezing out in the woods I really didn't look that bad. A little haggard maybe. But since I was supposed to have been shopping with Alice I could see her point. At least I think I was supposed to be with Alice. Maybe we were on a hike. I was too tired and relieved to worry about my alibi.

I brushed my hair so it was straight and smooth (or as smooth as it was going to be) and put on some makeup. I couldn't help it, eyeliner's fun; it's pretty much my favorite item of makeup. After a minute or two of various cosmetic applications I decided that was as good as it was going to get and wandered down the hall and into my room.

He wasn't in my room but my window was open and my amazing intuition told me that Jasper was on the roof. I crawled out and saw him sitting under the awning. I mentally gave myself a gold star and was really glad that Jasper wasn't the mind reading Cullen because he'd surely think I was a lunatic. I sat down next to him and leaned against his side.

"We haven't been out here in forever," I remarked.

"Kinda brings back memories, doesn't it?" he asked. "You look nice by the way."

I laughed. "Thanks. Grandma told me I needed to look presentable if 'that fiancé of mine' was coming by."

"Aw, you shouldn't have to put on a show for me."

"Meh, she's just old fashioned. And under your spell. And—"

"_And_ that's your cell phone," he cut in a second before my phone rang.

"It's Bella," I groaned.

"You can't avoid her forever. And she already thinks you're mad at her."

"But I'm not! I just find her slightly…"

"I know," he said softly like someone other than me would hear.

I decided to suck it up and answer the phone.

"Amanda!" she began. I could feel a tsunami of apologies and explanations coming on. I laid down, rested my head on Jasper's leg and braced for it. He laughed quietly at me and patted my head. "I'm soooo sorry! I know how mad you must be at me and I don't blame you at all! I never wanted Jasper or anyone else to get hurt! All I want is to be happy with Edward, I didn't know everyone would be dragged into it and nearly be killed and…"

"I know and it's not your fault." I felt rather bad for cutting her off, but I really didn't want to listen to all that gushing. Bella was a really nice person, but way too oversensitive for my liking.

"How can you be so mellow about this?" she asked. "I mean, Jasper could have _died_ because of me!"

I wanted to thank her for the reminder but decided to be nice and hold the insult in.

"Things happen, Bella. Everything could just as easily have been about Jasper and I. Honestly, I think that if Jasper and me were together before you and Edward then it would have been us. And I know you wouldn't be mad at me if that's how it had played out because I couldn't control it. Apologize to me after you personally call the Volturi and rat everyone out. Believe me, if I'm ever mad at you, you'd know."

"Is she serious Jasper?" Bella asked, knowing he couldn't help but overhear with his supersonic vampire hearing.

I laughed and held the phone up to his mouth.

"_Very_," he laughed and I put the phone back to my ear.

"I wonder why they're not interested in you. The Volturi, that is." She continued to muse.

"I'm a boring person."

Jasper snorted.

"Hah, I wouldn't say that's exactly right," Bella chuckled. "So we're really okay?"

"Really."

"You're not just saying that?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die that I'm not just saying that."

"Alright then. I'll let you go, thanks for being so understanding."

"Sure," I said. It wasn't an impressively elegant response, but what was I supposed to say to that. "Bye, Bella." She said bye and hung up. I snapped my phone shut and sighed dramatically.

"You were very nice," Jasper praised.

"She's a nice girl, I mean, I like her and all, but sometimes I think she really is crazy. Does she really think everything is her fault?"

"Yep. She actually does."

"Craziness."

"You wanna get going or do you want to rest?"

"I'm good to go! But I should probably change clothes first." I eyed my own grungy clothes and then looked at his nearly pristine ones. The only thing wrong was a slight grass stain on the knee of his jeans and it even looked like it had been put there on purpose.

"I'll meet you at the door," he said and kissed me and walked me over to my window.

"I'll try to be surprised to see you," I chuckled. He flashed a grin at me before stepping off the roof and landing silently on the ground.

I hopped through the window back into my room with great poise and grace, landing on the hardwood floor with just a dull thud...unlike all those other times when I tripped at the last minute and ended up swearing as I crashed to the floor. One of the perks of living with my grandmother was that she didn't really hear things go bump in the afternoon.

I changed into some clean jeans and a black shirt. I pulled on some cowboy boots (from Alice, she said it only made sense since Japer was from Texas) and grabbed a jacket. I glanced in the hall mirror as I sauntered downstairs and decided that I looked less woodsy than before and was probably fit to be seen in public.

"Jasper Whitlock!" I greeted. "So nice to see you again, and for the first time today!" I sat beside him on the sofa.

"Whitlock?" Grandma asked, looking perplexed.

Oops.

"It's my middle name," he explained. "A family name."

"Oh, that's nice. It sounds very distinguished."

I swear, Jasper could do no wrong in that woman's eyes.

"Ready to go?" I asked him, fearing I'd slip up again if we didn't get out soon. He nodded and we headed to the door.

"Does it matter how late we're out?" that fiancé of mine asked politely.

"Oh, honey, no. I told Amanda to be back before the sun came up, she's coming to LaPush with me in the morning. But I know you're a responsible young man, so I'm not worried."

One day she was going to jump Jasper. And I probably was going to be in hysterics and unable to help. Besides, he was bringing it on himself.


	31. Chapter 31

"We should've taken the motorcycle," I said randomly.

"Hindsight is always 20/20," Amanda laughed. "I probably would've frozen to death on it, though. It's a balmy twelve degrees outside, ya know." She paused before continuing with her rambling. "Maybe not quite that cold, but still pretty freaking chilly. It should be warmer than this in June. We should head south. I'm getting too old for these frigid temperatures."

"_You're_ too old for it?" I laughed and reached over and took her hand.

She shrugged. "I hang around with too many old people; I'm starting to turn into one. But people my own age irritate me, so I guess this is the best option. Pretty soon I'll have to start eating dinner at 4pm and be in bed by 8 at the latest."

"It'll never happen," I point out.

"Oh, can't you just let me dream?" She asked all exasperatedly.

I laughed as I swung the car into a sharp, hairpin turn. Amanda didn't even blink.

"I'm afraid I've lost the ability to scare you," I point out.

"Jasper, Jasper, Jasper. I've become immune to your vehicular aggression. But if you try and jump the Grand Canyon you'll get a reaction from me. But probably only then."

"Oooh, a challenge!" I snicker. "I'll have to save that for later."

I slowed the car down, speeding through a crowded downtown Seattle street on a Friday night seemed like a lot more trouble than it was worth.

"It would be kinda like that old video game Frogger, where you have to dodge the lines and still get across," Amanda pointed out after I voiced by observation. "Only dodging pedestrians might be more fun. Not to mention the sound effects would be better. And the graphics. I think there was a _Seinfeld_ episode about this, actually."

I smiled as she continued rambling. Things were good, things were back to about as normal as they could be. We could both finally relax, the mood was definitely lightened. I _knew_ she didn't blame me for anything that had happened but it didn't stop me from feeling horribly guilty about dragging her into it. But at this particular moment things were great. It was just me and her and nothing else mattered…except for avoiding these moron pedestrians who felt entitled to leap out in the middle of the road in oncoming traffic, but I was good and kept my "vehicular aggression" to a minimum until I swung the Mustang into a parking space.

We meandered up to the restaurant and I could tell Amanda had to contain her amusement that we immediately got a table and didn't have to wait like a small crowd of people outside.

"You're just so darn charming," Amanda grinned after we had been seated at a table.

I just smiled. "I can be pretty persuasive."

The waitress came to take our orders and Amanda seemed surprised when I got a steak, but waited until the waitress was gone to bring it up.

"The New York Strip…extra rare?" she asked.

"I'm a growing boy."

She just shrugged and sipped her wine courtesy of the fake ID I had given her a few weeks before.

"Oh, here," she said and pulled the credit card out that I had given her in case she had to take off to Canada.

I shrugged. "Just keep it. Go crazy, buy some Chuck Taylors."

"I'd have to get red ones so I can match the Mustang. You know how I feel about non-coordination."

"Between your disdain for unattractive breakfast foods and matching your shoes to the car, it's a wonder you never leave the house or get any nourishment."

"It's rather problematic. But, being Forks, there's nowhere to really leave the house for and I'm more of a night person anyway. There's no need to eat before at least noon. Extra rare steaks aren't appealing at 6am."

"Maybe not to you…" I laughed.

She smiled and shook her head.

"Extra rare preserves the integrity of the meat," I explained, trying to justify my bizarre and often grotesque eating habits by directly quoting some guy on the Food Network.

"Sure thing, Bobby Flay," she laughed as the waitress brought our food. She seemed to like Amanda and me a lot, I couldn't imagine why. Amanda delicately twirled some bizarre pasta concoction around her fork and I hacked into the hunk of meat.

"You crazy," she laughed as I chowed down on my only slightly dead steak.

"I'm Southern, I do love my meat," I grinned and let some blood ooze out of the steak. I could tell she wanted to say something else, but was opting out in case someone overheard.

We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes until she chimed in with something random.

"That unassuming, middle aged blond woman over there keeps staring at us. I'm intrigued."

"I know. People are crazy, even unassuming looking ones…is she eating raw steak too?" I mused.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom and see if she follows me…I might have a stalker! This is kinda exciting; no one in Forks is brave or interesting enough to stalk!"

"Good luck, don't let her get you in a dark alley, she looks like a killer," I laughed as Amanda stood up and very smoothly flipped me a select hand gesture which she disguised as scratching her nose. I watched her walk away and round the corner, but the woman didn't follow. I continued eating, even though everything in my upbringing screamed that I was being rude by not waiting, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself. A few minutes later Amanda wandered back toward the table, but the random woman got up and started talking to her before she reached me.

"Is that guy your boyfriend?" she asked Amanda, waiving her arm in my general direction.

"Yeah. Well, fiancé`, actually," Amanda answered smoothly, but I could tell she was slightly weirded out. "Why, did he start trouble while I was gone?"

I smirked into my steak, trying not to make it obvious I could hear them. But I knew Amanda knew I could hear, so she was trying to be entertaining.

"Oh no honey, nothing like that," Random Woman continued. "I'm just being nosey because you two are so cute together! He's all tall and muscular and blond and you're petite redhead, you'll have beautiful children! He's so crazy about you, it's adorable and so obvious! When's the wedding, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We're not completely sure yet. Sometime in July or August, I think. His sister's doing the majority of the planning, so we're just showing up when she says to."

"Well, congratulations!" she gushed and pulled Amanda in for a hug. "I won't bother you anymore, I just had to know!" Then Random Woman sauntered back to her table and Amanda sat back down across from me.

"I think I just had…girl talk," Amanda said with a look of bewilderment, which caused me to burst into laughter.

"Was it everything you'd hoped it'd be?"

"It's hard to say," she pondered while twirling pasta. "I've only ever had this 'girl talk' thing with Alice and Rosalie and Bella attempted once or twice, so I don't have much to compare it to. But no, I didn't much care for it. I just get along with men better. I'm glad you're male, Jasper."

"Um, so am I…?" I said, unable to think of anything clever to say.

"You should be, because I don't think I'd do well as a lesbian. All that drama. And not to mention all the makeup and clothes and stuff." She paused to take a bite. "Actually, hanging out with Alice is kinda like having a lesbian lover only sans the lover part."

"What?" I asked. Of all the things that could've come out of her mouth, I never saw that one coming.

"Just think about it: she's always giving me clothes and makeup and other random girlie things like a lesbian lover would."

"And you know what a lesbian lover would give as gifts?" I asked and quirked an eyebrow.

"It's a possibility…." She trailed of mysteriously and took another bite. "No, but I really don't know aside from what I've seen on TV. I'm just rambling; you should be used to it by now! Sorry to disappoint."

I just grinned and pushed my empty plate away. "I can't believe I actually ate that."

"Me either," Amanda agreed as she too pushed her plate away. "I've only seen you eat food like twice."

I paid the check much to Amanda's stubborn protests. Unlike a lot of girls who acted like they didn't want they guy to pay but actually did, Amanda really didn't want me to always be paying for her. But I always won that argument, even though I found her hell-bent independence captivating. So many girls seemed to be helpless without a guy in their lives and Amanda had made it clear she was never going to be one of them.

"Where to now?" I asked as we exited the restaurant onto the crowded street.

Amanda shrugged. "Am I really a redhead? Or is that woman blind? It's been bothering me for like the past hour."

I laughed. "Really? All that talk about lesbian lovers and you were really worrying if you were a redhead?"

She smiled sheepishly.

"Your hair isn't red, it dark brown with flecks of blond and in just the right lighting, an ever so slight red tint."

"You would notice, wouldn't you?" she smiled and took my hand.

"Do you need anything? Coffee or something warm? It's freezing out here," I asked as a gust of chilly wind swept down the busy street.

"Nah, I'm good. But thanks."

"Are you sure? There's like 19 Starbucks on this street."

She laughed and insisted she was fine as I steered us into a small record shop. We amused ourselves for a few minutes, rooting around in bins and discussing obscure bands with even more obscure record releases. She was putting up a brave front, but I could tell that Amanda was getting really tired.

"Do you want to go home so you can sleep?" I offered, interested in what kind of response I would get.

"Yes, please," was all she said, looking slightly defeated.

"You've only been up like 24 straight hours," I tried to make her feel better. I draped my arm around her shoulders as if to guide her down the busy city street back to the car.

"And not to mention the emotional duress."

"Duress is exhausting," I agreed. As if to validate my point, she yawned and tried to hide it by casually glancing in the opposite direction like she was looking at the river. I chuckled and said, "You're so stubborn."

"It's part of the magic that makes up me…or at least that's what Grandpa said once back when I was dating that British guy allegedly involved in the mafia. I told you about him. But now that I think back he might've really been in the mafia. Or some underground, less-than-legal organization, anyway."

"I like the magic that is you," I said…choosing to ignore the bit about the British guy. I paused and thought about that statement for a second. "Sorry, that was way too cheesy. I take it back."

Amanda laughed, "Good, I was afraid for a minute that you were getting all mushy or Edwardian or something. That's a relief."

"Edwardian! Ha! Nice one!" I couldn't help but laugh. She had a killer sense of humor. I kept telling her she should write a book. A cold, damp gust of wind swept down the street and Amanda nestled closer to my side. I felt bad that it wouldn't keep her warm but I liked her being right there.

"Do you find pedestrians equally annoying on foot as you do driving?" she asked randomly.

"Not so much," I answered as we crossed the street (in the crosswalk, for the record) and darted for the Mustang. I opened the passenger door for her and Amanda was too tired to protest. I walked at an average human pace to the driver's side and quickly started the car and turned the heat on for Amanda. She mumbled thanks and rested her head on my shoulder.

She drifted off to sleep as I ripped through the highways back to Forks. I was surprised she could sleep through my speeding, even the car itself was protesting wildly. I didn't care, I needed a new one anyway and it was just money. I found it easier to drive fast, I didn't get sidetracked looking at miniscule patterns that humans never noticed and it relaxed me. The normally 2 hour drive took only 45 minutes thanks to my speeding.

I pulled onto her road and kissed her forehead to wake her up. She looked outside and seemed surprised we were back so soon.

"How fast did you go?" she yawned.

"About 90."

She laughed sleepily. "I'm so proud." She buried her face into my shoulder.

"You should go inside and go to bed," I said gently.

"Would you stay?" she asked. I couldn't help but smile, she sounded like a little kid whenever she got tired.

"Of course." I picked up my phone to call Emmett to ask him to come get my car so Amanda's grandma wouldn't know I was staying over but the phone vibrated just before I dialed.

"Emmett's on his way over," Alice said in her usual peppy nature. I thanked her and she continued talking. "What's Amanda doing tomorrow? I can't see her and it makes me nervous."

"She and her Grandma are going to some craft thing or something in La Push…where the dogs are."

"Oh! That explains it then! Well, you two have a good night, cheerio!" And with that she hung up.

"Alice is way too energetic," Amanda mumbled, still not looking up from my shoulder. "However, you're very relaxing."

"I try," I said. I actually was trying to relax her. "Emmett'll be here in a few minutes to take the car back to the house." I put the car in drive and pulled into her driveway, thinking that her Grandma would see or hear the car and then see it leave and everybody wins. As soon as I put the Mustang in park, Emmett tapped on my window. Amanda groaned quietly and dragged herself out of the car. I opened my door and handed my taller and slightly more reckless brother the keys.

"If it isn't a short stop and a sudden drop!" Emmett exclaimed as if that was some kind of greeting.

"Short stop? Why must my height always be the butt of jokes?" Amanda smiled sleepily.

"Hey, now! My butt looks breathtaking in these jeans!" Emmett argued and turned around to show her. I smirked. You could always count on Emmett for something random.

"Go to bed, kid, you look awful," He said, gesturing for Amanda to go inside.

"Gee, thanks."

"Jasper, make her go to bed!" Emmett demanded.

"I would but you keep talking," I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh. Yeah. That's true. Well, bye then, baby sis!" He encased Amanda in one of his vice-like hugs then took off in my beloved car. I really hoped I'd see it again in one piece.

"I'll meet you upstairs," I said. I took her hand and kissed it before darting up tree that grew beside the house. I heard her open the front door and talk briefly to her grandma as I lay down on her bed. Her bed was amazingly comfortable. I wished I was actually alive for several reasons, one of which was so I could sleep in this bed. I told Amanda that once and she thought it was hilarious. A few minutes later Amanda came in and shut her bedroom door, looking quite bleary eyed, and fell into bed beside me.

"Don't you want to change clothes or something first?" I asked. She shook her head no and rolled over and leaned her head against my chest.

"Your car smells like dog, by the way," she mumbled.

"I know," I chuckled lowly. "You'll smell like dog again tomorrow, too."

"Bleh. Will you wake me up before you have to leave in the morning?"

"Of course. Now go to sleep."

She finally closed her eyes and in a minute or two or breathing slowed down. I pulled the covers up over her and adjusted my body so I wasn't under it with her, keeping my coldness away from her body heat. I lay there, perfectly relaxed, and watched her sleep until morning.


End file.
